“The transition to the new currency in our country was extremely successful and will serve as an example for other countries“, said the member of the Governing Council of the Bulgarian National Bank Iliya Lingorski, in the studio of “Wake Up“ on Nova TV. He congratulated the employees of the BNB, the banking sector and the retail network for the well-organized currency conversion process.
Lingorski admitted that in the first days there were some misunderstandings – document requirements, attempts to charge fees or different interpretations of the rules by individual bank branches. However, all signals were considered and the problems – removed within the first week.
„The faster a signal is filed, the faster a solution is found. The goal is not to look for culprits, but to ensure the normal course of the process“, he emphasized.
According to BNB data, over 7 billion leva were withdrawn from the available circulation in the first two weeks of the real exchange alone. By the end of December, over 20 billion leva were in circulation, and currently they are already around 13 billion.
The peak of daily withdrawals was in the last days of December, when an average of 500 million leva were withdrawn daily through the banking system. The pace is expected to gradually slow down.
Initially, some small retail outlets experienced a shortage of euros, mainly coins, which led to temporary closure of shops. According to the BNB, this was the result of insufficient advance planning, not a lack of currency.
At the moment, there are already over 4.3 billion euros in circulation, which fully covers trade turnover. The problem was resolved within the first five working days.
Until mid-year, the exchange of levs into euros is free of fees, regardless of whether a person is a client of the respective bank or not. Banks are not entitled to refuse an exchange or demand fees.
Declarations are required only for amounts over 5,000 euros, according to the Law on Measures Against Money Laundering. For amounts over 30,000 levs or euros, a prior application is required.
The BNB has called on citizens to sort their coins by denomination in order to speed up the exchange process. No fee may be charged for counting coins, especially if they have been pre-sorted.
Intentionally damaged euro banknotes will not be exchanged or compensated. Merchants have the right to refuse to accept them. Knowingly possessing a counterfeit banknote is a crime, and suspicious denominations must be handed over to the police immediately.
After January 31, the lev ceases to be legal tender and will not be accepted in the retail network. However, the exchange will continue:
• in commercial banks - for a certain period;
• in the BNB - indefinitely, even after 10 years.
When asked whether it is appropriate for BNB representatives to hold political positions, Lingorski emphasized that the Central Bank is an institution that by statute remains politically neutral and does not comment on such topics.