Canteens at Turkish schools are set to switch to payment with prepaid cards, in a move to help parents track the spending of their children.

Vahap Osmanoğlu, head of the Federation of Canteen Businesses, said cards will be first introduced in 500 schools in Istanbul on September 17, the start of new school year.

"We want to protect students from spending their allowances on bad habits like drugs and to protect their money from possible theft. Cards will be exclusively for canteen use and parents can choose how much money they put on to their children's cards," he said.