Between 9 p.m. on December 31st and 1 a.m. on January 1st, card systems will be switched from lev to euro, the Association of Banks in Bulgaria reminds.
During this short interval, it will not be possible to pay with a card at a physical POS terminal or on the Internet, as well as withdraw from an ATM. The advice to all of us is to ensure cash for New Year's Eve and the first days of the year.
Between December 31st and January 2nd, banks will readjust their systems. Each of them has already individually informed its customers about the availability of their channels during this period, the banking association emphasizes.
During the holidays, cards will work in standard mode, except for the short interval on New Year's Eve, necessary for switching card systems.
From January 1, all card payments will be in euros. ATMs will only dispense euro banknotes.
No prior preparation is required for the transition to the euro, no credit or debit cards need to be replaced. The IBAN of our bank accounts remains unchanged.
From January 1 to June 30, everyone can exchange in banks and in some branches of "Bulgarian Posts" their banknotes and coins from leva to euro at the fixed exchange rate of 1.95583 without a fee.
No counting fees will be applied to the coins, and it is recommended that they be pre-sorted to facilitate the process.
In the case of a larger quantity, we may be directed to a specific center where the bank has provided coin counting machines, for faster service, the Association of Banks in Bulgaria adds.