Balgarianovinite.com Following reports from citizens about irregularities with exchanging Bulgarian lev banknotes and coins for euro at commercial banks, Bulgaria’s Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva has referred the matter to Petya Dimitrova, Chair of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria, the Ombudsman said on Wednesday.
The irregularities include charging fees, requiring declarations of the origin of funds for amounts under BGN 1,000, restricting the exchange of certain amounts, charging fees for counting coins, a lack of euro banknotes and unilaterally changing ATM withdrawal limits from BGN 400 to EUR 100.
Delcheva said: “During the first six months from the date of introduction of the euro in the Republic of Bulgaria, credit institutions shall exchange an unlimited amount of lev banknotes and coins into euro free of charge at the official exchange rate. For amounts over BGN 30,000 per transaction, credit institutions shall exchange lev banknotes and coins into euro free of charge after a prior request of three working days.”
The Ombudsman noted that the law only allows fees to be introduced for the exchange service after this six-month period has expired, and that any additional conditions or restrictions introduced outside the legal framework are unlawful.
To protect the rights and legitimate interests of citizens during the transition from the lev to the euro, the Ombudsman called on the Association of Banks in Bulgaria to carry out urgent checks and take action, analyse the problems that have arisen and take a clear position on compliance with the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria Act by all member banks. Ombudsman Refers Currency Exchange Irregularities to Association of Banks in Bulgaria 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-07 11:05:14 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law