FAQ

Conversion is the change of the monetary unit in which an amount or value is denominated from leva into euro by applying the official conversion rate and the rounding rules set out in the Law on the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria. It refers to prices, deposits, loans, financial instruments, etc.

As of the day of the introduction of the euro, the Bulgarian National Bank will exchange free of charge, in unlimited quantity and for an unlimited period of time, leva banknotes and coins for euro at the official exchange rate.

During the first 6 months as of the date of the introduction of the euro credit institutions (banks) will exchange Bulgarian banknotes and coins into euro at the official exchange rate and free of charge. In the same period Bulgarian Posts EAD will exchange banknotes and coins from leva into euro free of charge only in settlements where there are no offices or branches of a credit institution.

After the first 6 months from the introduction of the euro, credit institutions and Bulgarian Posts EAD will be entitled to charge a fee for this service.

After the first 12 months from the introduction of the euro, credit institutions and Bulgarian Posts EAD may decide to stop the provision of this service.

The BNB has no limits on the amount of money exchanged.

Likewise, there will be no limit on the amount exchanged in credit institutions for the first 6 months , with the standard 3 working day advance request required for amounts over BGN 30,000 per transaction.

During the first 6 months as of the euro introduction date, Bulgarian Posts EAD will exchange banknotes and coins from leva into euro up to BGN 1,000 per day per person. For any amounts from BGN 1,000 to BGN 10,000 per day a request should be made 3 working days in advance only at pre-announced postal branches in the country.

Prices will be formed according to the rules of conversion and rounding:

• Conversion rule: the numerical value of the price in leva is divided by the full numerical value of the official exchange rate with all five decimal places.
• Rounding rule: the resulting sum is rounded to the second decimal place on the basis of the third decimal place in accordance with the following mathematical rounding rule:
• if the third decimal place is less than five, the second decimal remains unchanged;
• if the third decimal place is equal to or greater than five, the second decimal increases by one.

The prices of goods and services will be displayed in leva and euro  as of the first month after the date of entry into force of the Decision on Euro Adoption until 12 months after the date of introduction of the euro in Bulgaria. Both prices will be displayed in a clear, legible, unambiguous and easy-to-understand manner, in the same font size and in a way that does not mislead consumers. They should be placed alongside one another and should be accompanied by a distinctive sign or abbreviation that enables them to be easily identifiable. The final amount to be paid by the consumer will also be displayed in both currencies on the fiscal/system slip issued.

 

 

In the case of price reduction announcements for goods and services that are expressed in absolute terms or as a percentage, enterprises may provide dual display of the prices of goods and services only in relation to the final price to be paid by the consumer.

For a period of one month after the date of the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, both the lev and the euro will be legal tender on the territory of Bulgaria (period of dual circulation of the lev and the euro). This means that citizens will be able to make payments in both currencies during this one month.

After this period the banknotes and coins in leva will cease to be legal tender on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.

In the period of dual circulation traders will give the change to their customers in euro, except in cases where the trader has insufficient cash on hand, in which case the trader will be allowed to return the change in leva.

In the event of a claim by the consumer of a product or service, the trader shall refund the amount paid in euro. A refund of the amount paid in cash in leva shall be allowed only if the trader does not have sufficient current availability to return the amount in cash in euro.

Salaries, benefits, cash and social benefits as well as pensions under Part I of the Social Security Code will be paid in euro as from the date of adoption of the single European currency in Bulgaria. They will be converted into euro by being rounded to the nearest euro cent, where if the third decimal place is greater than zero, the second decimal place increases by one.

Each pension insurance company must update its customers’ account information in accordance with the rules for conversion and rounding.

During the period of dual display pension insurance companies display in leva and euro the funds available in the individual accounts of insured persons, in the supplementary pension funds and in the analytical accounts of persons receiving payments from the deferred payment funds at the end of the calendar year preceding the date of euro introduction both in leva and in euro. The information will be provided free of charge.

- The National Revenue Agency - when the infringements are related to payment documents issued to citizens, or when a trader has increased the prices of the goods and services he offers without this being justified by any objective economic factors;

- the Consumer Protection Commission - when the infringements are related to the dual display of prices or any other type of misleading of consumers;

- the Bulgarian National Bank - in case of infringements by the credit institutions supervised by the BNB;

- the Financial Supervision Commission - in case of infringements by banks under the supervision of the FSC and investment intermediaries, performing the functions of depositaries, entities managing alternative investment funds, organised securities markets;

- the Minister of Electronic Governance – when the administrative bodies, the entities performing public functions and the organisations providing public services have not brought their information systems processing financial information into compliance with the requirements of the Law on the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria and with the Electronic Governance Act.

During the period of dual display each bank must indicate in leva and in euro:

• the opening and closing balance of bank accounts in the statements provided on paper or another durable medium for all EUR-denominated accounts opened before the date of introduction of the euro;
• information about the value of the payment transaction and the amount of fees and commissions payable;
• information about the value of the payment transaction and the remaining account balance in the case of cash withdrawal payment transactions at a terminal ATM device;
• information about the balance of loans and the amount of instalments due on loans granted under the Consumer Credit Law and the Law on Consumer Real Estate Loans in BGN, provided in an office of a credit or financial institution or via Internet or mobile banking, upon request of the customer;
• information about any payments made in respect of principal, interest and other payments relating to loans and advance payments;
• information about interest on deposit accounts.

On the date of the introduction of the euro all accounts – current, deposit, savings and other accounts in local banks – will be converted into euro one-time only, automatically and free-of-charge.

As of the day of the introduction of the euro, account holders will only be able to withdraw euro from their accounts, regardless of whether the withdrawal will be through ATM/POS device or in the office of a bank, payment institution or an e-money company.

If an agreed interest rate on a loan/deposit is fixed, the bank should continue to apply a fixed interest rate after the introduction of the euro. The switch from a fixed rate in leva to a fixed rate in euro may not result in less favourable conditions or results for both the customer and the bank.

If an agreed interest rate on a loan/deposit is variable, it will be converted according to a methodology that ensures that the resulting interest payment in euro is equivalent to that in leva on the date of conversion.

With the introduction of the euro, all taxes, fees and other payments to the state and municipalities will be made in euro. An exception to this rule will be made during the one month period of dual circulation, i.e. one month from the date of introduction of the euro.

Amounts on tax returns will be stated in the currency that was the official monetary unit at the end of the tax period for which the tax return is submitted. When the tax period for which the tax return is submitted ends during the period of dual circulation of the leva and the euro, the monetary values in the tax return should be indicated in euro.

Customers of insurance companies should be informed of any changes relating to their insurance policies. In addition, from the first month following the date of entry into force of the Decision on Euro Adoption until 12 months after the date of the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria all insurers and insurance intermediaries have to indicate the following in leva and in euro:

• the total amount payable by the insured persons under an insurance contract concluded in that period, as well as the amounts of the instalments in the event of deferred payment of the insurance premium under such contract;
• notices of the amounts of the instalments due during that period under an insurance contract, irrespective of the date on which it was concluded, in the event of deferred payment of the insurance premium, where such instalments have been agreed.

 

During the period of dual display, management companies and national open-ended investment funds publish on their websites summary information with monetary values in euro and in leva.

During this period, investment firms also indicate in leva and euro the client’s cash balance, the total value of the client’s financial instruments, as well as information on fees and charges.

During the same period, when providing investment portfolio management services to retail clients, management companies and alternative investment fund managers also indicate the balance of the client’s cash account in leva and euro the total value of the client's financial instruments, as well as information on fees and expenses.

In the period of dual display, the investment firm organising a trading venue must indicate in leva and in euro:

- the turnover of the trading venue concerned published on the website of the trading venue;

- the opening price, the closing price, the minimum and maximum price, the previous closing price and the weighted average price of each financial instrument on the trading venue's website. 

The introduction of the euro will not affect the validity of existing contracts with references to the leva, including deadlines and obligations, under any contract.

All values specified in leva in the existing contracts will be considered as values in euro while applying the official exchange rate and the rounding rules specified in the Law on the Introduction of the Euro, with the references in contracts to the leva without specifying the value will be considered to be references to the euro.

The introduction of the euro does not entitle a party to unilaterally amend or terminate such a contract unless otherwise expressly agreed between the parties.

From the date of the introduction of the euro, all loans originally granted in leva or loans with a currency clause in euro will be considered to be loans in euro and will be converted at the official fixed rate, expressed to five decimal places, and rounded according to the rules set out in the future Law on the Introduction of the Euro.

The introduction of the euro will not be allowed to be used as a condition for renegotiation of clauses in contracts already concluded between banks and their clients or as a basis for other similar actions by banks in relation to their clients that could put them in a less favourable financial position relative to their position before the currency conversion.

This will also apply to non-banking financial institutions that provide loans to clients.

 

Postage stamps, lotteries with a predetermined result, discount coupons, coupons for the value of returned goods, vouchers, including food vouchers and other bearer securities which were on sale or in circulation before the date of introduction of the euro and whose value is expressed in BGN can be used even after the date of introduction of the euro until their expiration date or until quantities are exhausted.