Euro Changeover in Just 40 Days: How Bulgarians’ Money Will Be Converted

Bulgaria is now just over 40 days away from adopting the euro on January 1, 2026, and banks say the transition will unfold smoothly. In an interview with NOVA News, Assoc. Prof. Dr. James Yolovski, Secretary General of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria, explained that the financial sector has prepared extensively and that people do not need to rush or take any special steps ahead of time.

He noted that one of the most common questions concerns how ATMs will work around midnight on New Year’s Eve. Bulgaria has opted for a more refined approach than the one Croatia used, with machines being loaded with both leva and euro banknotes in separate cassettes. Even so, the hours around the changeover will involve a brief interruption. According to him, there will be a planned technological pause of roughly two and a half hours between December 31 and January 1, during which cards and ATMs will not be operational. After that, machines will gradually resume service and dispense only euros.

Yolovski urged people not to panic about the leva they hold in cash. Throughout January 2026, leva notes and coins will continue to be accepted in shops. For the first six months of the year, banks will exchange all leva cash at the fixed rate without charging any fees.

Bank clients will not need to make any adjustments to their accounts or cards before the switch. All leva-denominated accounts will convert automatically and free of charge to euros. Customers who already maintain separate leva and euro accounts will end up with two euro accounts after the change and may merge them without a fee if they choose. Existing cards will stay valid, and bank charges will be recalculated at the fixed exchange rate, with the rules requiring rounding practices that benefit clients.

Asked about the readiness of the system, Yolovski stressed that banks have been working on the transition since 2020–2021 and have carried out numerous tests. While he did not rule out minor disruptions or heavier loads on systems in the first hours of January 1, he underscored that there is no threat to the financial sector’s stability and that the preparations are complete.