Will Monzo and Starling verification texts work in Turkey if I use an eSIM? Yes: payments are approved in the app over eSIM data, and texts still reach your UK SIM

Yes, for most things. Monzo and Starling approve online card payments inside their apps, so any data connection works, including a travel eSIM on Vodafone or Türk Telekom in Turkey. For the odd SMS code, keep your UK SIM switched on as a second line with data roaming off: O2 and Three say receiving a text does not trigger their daily roaming charge in Turkey.

Two separate things get called "verification texts". The first is the check when you pay online with your card (3D Secure). The second is an SMS code some services send to your UK number. For the first, both banks use the app. Monzo says a challenged payment shows "a pop-up window that asks the customer to confirm their identity on the app" (Monzo blog, 29 Jan 2020). Starling's security page says it sends a push notification to approve the payment in the app (Starling, mobile banking security). An app approval needs internet, not your UK number. We found no official Monzo or Starling page that lists when an SMS code is still sent, so plan for it as a fallback, not the main route.

Receiving texts in Turkey on each UK network

Turkey is outside the UK networks' Europe zones, so using your UK allowance there costs a daily fee. The key question for bank codes is whether a text you only receive starts that fee.

UK network	Turkey zone	Daily fee if you use your plan	Receiving a text	Does receiving trigger the fee?
O2	O2 Travel destination	£7 a day (O2 Travel)	No price given	No. "It won't be triggered by receiving calls or texts"
Three	Go Roam Around the World Extra	£7 or £8 a day, or £42 for a 7-day pass	Free	No. The charge applies when you make calls, send texts or use data
Vodafone	Zone C	£8 a day from 14 April 2026	No charge listed, but Vodafone may pass on a foreign network's admin fee	Not stated in the Charges Guide
EE	Zone 1	£6 for a 24-hour pass, £30 for 7 days	Not shown for Turkey	Not stated. EE texts you a pass link when you land

Notes on the table. O2's wording is from its O2 Travel help page. Three's figures are from its Three Your Way price guide (plans from 19 April 2026), which lists "Receiving texts or MMS: Free" in Go Roam destinations; the daily figure is £7 or £8 depending on when you joined. Vodafone's Charges Guide lists receiving calls as free in Zones C and D and says "If we are charged an admin fee from a foreign network operator for you to receive a text, we will pass this charge to you." EE's roaming page puts Turkey in Zone 1; EE's destination tool would not load a Turkey entry for us, so we could not confirm EE's incoming text rate there.

The safe setup on any network: UK SIM on, data roaming off on the UK line, do not reply to texts or make calls from it. That way you only receive.

What UKRoamFree uses here

UKRoamFree's Turkey eSIM runs on Vodafone (Vodafone Turkey) and Türk Telekom (Avea), both listed as 5G. It is data only, with no Turkish number, so it carries the app approvals, not SMS. Your UK SIM keeps receiving texts alongside it.

Plan	Price (USD)	About (GBP)
1 GB, 7 days	$1.99	£1.50
5 GB, 30 days	$4.99	£3.75
10 GB, 30 days	$5.49	£4.13
500 MB a day for 7 days, then 512 kbps	$3.99	£3.00
1 GB a day for 7 days, then 512 kbps	$5.49	£4.13

Prices checked 12 November 2026 on the Turkey eSIM page. GBP at 1 USD = 0.7515 GBP (ECB, 11 Nov 2026).

To be fair: if your UK plan already includes Turkey, you do not need any of this. Starling also sells its own travel eSIM in its app (Starling travel), which does the same job as ours. And a week of O2 Travel at £7 a day buys your full UK allowance at up to 2 Mbps, which some people prefer to two lines.

How to set it up before you fly

• Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi. On iPhone, set the eSIM as the mobile data line and keep the UK line on for calls and texts. Apple: "Dual SIM enables you to have two active phone numbers" and "One number at a time can use mobile data" (Apple Support, 3 Nov 2026).
• Turn data roaming off on the UK line, and on for the eSIM line.
• Leave "Allow Mobile Data Switching" off. Apple says data switching does not work while you are using data roaming anyway.
• Open Monzo and Starling once on the eSIM before you travel home, so you know approvals arrive.
• Check notifications are allowed for both banking apps. No push, no approval screen.
• If a service insists on SMS, the code still arrives on your UK number as long as the UK line is on.
• Hotel Wi-Fi also works for app approvals if the eSIM is out of data.

Sources: Monzo blog (29 Jan 2020), Monzo security, Starling mobile banking security, Starling travel, O2 Travel help, O2 Travel destinations, Three Your Way price guide, plans from 19 Apr 2026, Three Go Roam, Vodafone Charges Guide, Vodafone global roaming, EE roaming zones, Apple Support (3 Nov 2026). Checked 12 November 2026.