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OncologyIstanbul™

Paying from Russia & the CIS

Since 2022, international card payments, bank transfers, and currency conversion from Russia specifically have gotten genuinely harder because of banking restrictions — this is a real logistics problem for patients on this route, and we'd rather address it plainly than let you find out the hard way. It doesn't stop treatment from happening; it does mean payment needs a bit more planning than for a patient traveling from, say, Germany.

Who you actually pay

You pay the hospital directly — by card, bank transfer, or cash at the hospital's own cashier, once you're in Turkey, or through the hospital's own international payment channels. OncologyIstanbul never takes patient payments and never asks for a deposit. The itemized quote you approve is the contract price with the hospital, not with us.

What patients from Russia & the CIS actually do

In practice, patients arrange payment in a few different ways — a card issued in a third country, help from a family member or contact abroad, cash brought in person, or a bank transfer routed through the hospital's own international payment desk. We're intentionally not telling you which of these "works" right now: sanctions rules, card-network participation, and individual banks' restrictions change, sometimes quickly, and a confident-sounding claim on a static page could be wrong or out of date by the time you read it.

What actually works for you depends on your specific bank and where you're paying from. Discuss your situation with your coordinator before you travel, not after — they can walk through your options with you, and where needed, connect you directly with the hospital's international payment desk so you have a confirmed plan before you book flights.

The hospital's payment desk has the final word

Exactly which cards, transfer routes, or currencies a given hospital can currently accept is a question only that hospital's international payment or patient-relations desk can answer authoritatively — it can also differ hospital to hospital. That's genuinely outside what we, as a patient-advocacy intermediary, can promise on a hospital's behalf. Ask your coordinator to put you in direct contact with that desk as soon as payment planning starts, and get your method confirmed in writing before you travel.

Questions patients ask

Do international payments from Russia really get blocked?
Since 2022, many patients from Russia have run into real difficulties with international card payments, bank transfers, and currency conversion because of banking restrictions. This is a genuine, practical problem for this route — not something we think is useful to pretend isn't happening.
Do I pay OncologyIstanbul, or the hospital?
You pay the hospital directly — by card, bank transfer, or cash at the hospital's own cashier, once you're in Turkey, or through the hospital's own international payment channels. OncologyIstanbul never takes patient payments and never asks for a deposit.
What payment method should I use?
It depends on your specific bank and where you're paying from, and that can change. Rather than guess, ask your coordinator before you travel and ask the hospital's international payment desk directly — they are the only ones who can tell you, today, exactly which payment rails they currently accept.
Who can actually confirm what will work for my bank?
The hospital's own international payment or patient-relations desk. Sanctions rules, card-network participation, and bank-specific restrictions shift, and only the hospital's finance team can speak to what they can currently process — that's genuinely outside what a patient-advocacy intermediary can promise on a hospital's behalf.
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You can also reach a coordinator directly on WhatsApp (opens in a new tab) or Telegram (opens in a new tab) to talk through payment logistics before you commit to travel dates.