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Türkiye’s household savings rate remained unchanged at 54% in the fourth quarter of 2025, while physical gold and cash continued to dominate as preferred ways to store wealth, according to a survey conducted by Dutch lender ING's Türkiye subsidiary.
The findings showed that more than half of respondents reported having savings, with men slightly ahead of women at 55%, a gap of 3 percentage points. Among the 46% who said they had no savings, 21% planned to begin saving soon, including 24% of women and 18% of men.
The proportion of savers who put aside money regularly rose to 84%, up 2 percentage points from the previous quarter. However, many households reported modest saving capacity. Among regular savers, 27% said they set aside less than 10% of their income, while 43% allocated between 10% and 20%.
Physical gold held outside the banking system, often referred to as "under-the-pillow gold," remained the most widely used savings vehicle at 43%. Cash kept outside banks followed at 32%, rising from the previous quarter.
Other commonly used financial instruments included gold or precious metal accounts at 21%, Turkish lira time deposits at 18%, stocks and equities at 16%, and private pension funds at 15%, which increased by 4 percentage points. Meanwhile, 9% used lira current accounts, 8% held foreign currency time deposits, and 4% invested in funds.
Women were more likely to prefer physical gold and gold accounts, while men showed higher participation in equities, stock markets, and cryptocurrencies.
Controlling expenses was the most common action taken to maintain financial stability, cited by 65% of respondents, up 5 percentage points from the previous period. Meanwhile, 19% said they shifted funds toward higher-return investment products, and 15% diversified across multiple instruments.
Financial literacy remained uneven. Overall, 39% of respondents said they had knowledge of investment products, with men reporting higher awareness at 45%, 12 percentage points more than women.
Banking system participation was widespread, with 95% of respondents using banking services. Digital adoption also remained strong, as 90% said they had used internet or mobile banking within the past month.
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