diff --git a/ethstaker_deposit/deposit.py b/ethstaker_deposit/deposit.py
index 90fd4503..aa353fd2 100644
--- a/ethstaker_deposit/deposit.py
+++ b/ethstaker_deposit/deposit.py
@@ -31,7 +31,24 @@ def check_python_version() -> None:
     '''
     if sys.version_info < (3, 9):
         click.pause(load_text(['err_python_version']))
-        sys.exit()
+        sys.exit(78)
+
+
+def check_term_encoding() -> None:
+    '''
+    Checks that the terminal uses utf-8 encoding and exits if not. This is done to avoid issues with passwords
+    '''
+    encoding = sys.stdin.encoding.lower()
+    acceptable_encodings = ['utf-8']
+
+    # Windows has a zoo of cp codepages, none of which map to utf-8, and utf-8 is generally not available
+    # "It is what it is" on Windows
+    if encoding not in acceptable_encodings and sys.platform != 'win32':
+        click.pause(
+            f'Your terminal is using {encoding} encoding which can present problems with passwords. '
+            'Please use "utf-8".'
+        )
+        sys.exit(78)
 
 
 def check_connectivity() -> None:
@@ -113,6 +130,7 @@ def cli(ctx: click.Context, language: str, non_interactive: bool, ignore_connect
 def run() -> None:
     freeze_support()  # Needed when running under Windows in a frozen bundle
     check_python_version()
+    check_term_encoding()
 
     try:
         cli()
diff --git a/tests/test_deposit.py b/tests/test_deposit.py
index a7f4048d..48d03907 100644
--- a/tests/test_deposit.py
+++ b/tests/test_deposit.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 def test_should_notify_user_and_exit_if_invalid_python_version(monkeypatch) -> None:
     exit_called = False
 
-    def _mock_sys_exit():
+    def _mock_sys_exit(arg):
         nonlocal exit_called
         exit_called = True