Banknotes and coins of Bulgaria

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Currency units - banknotes and coins of Bulgaria - are called levs and stotinki, they are designated by international coding as BGN. So one lev is equal to one hundred stotinki.

Currency Board Regime

In order for the lev to exist as a stable state currency, since 2002 Bulgaria has been pegged to the euro. Accordingly, before that there was a link to the German mark.

The exchange rate of the lev to the euro remains at a ratio of 1.96 to 1, respectively. For comparison: the exchange rate of the dollar for the lev remains at 60 cents to 1 lev. Since 1999, paper banknotes have been replaced throughout Bulgaria. To avoid problems, you should pay attention to the year of issue of the banknote. If it shows production from 1991 to 1998, then such a bill is invalid.

The denominations in circulation are one, two and five (coins of Bulgaria), as well as ten, twenty and fifty leva (banknotes).

Where can I exchange money?

Banks in Bulgaria are open from 9 am to 4 pm on weekdays with a break for lunch, and on weekends and holidays their doors are closed. The bank is a reliable structure. The United Bank of Bulgaria sets a very favorable exchange rate. The Bulgarian lev can be obtained by providing the employee with your passport. The disadvantage of this method is the lackbank representative offices in resort areas. When contacting a bank, it is recommended to demand not only paper banknotes, but also Bulgarian coins.

But it is much more profitable to exchange money at specialized exchange offices called Exchange or Change. They work from early morning until late at night. It is better to apply there in the morning - at this time, Bulgarian money is exchanged at a favorable rate.

Resort areas use a lower exchange rate, favoring dollars and euros. Near the markets, Change can also exchange Russian rubles, but this is extremely unprofitable.

You should be careful when an exchange office offers a worthwhile exchange rate with a commission of 1% - usually such information is located on the doors of the office. But tourists often do not notice the smaller inscription next to it, which says that such a promotion is valid only from a certain amount. Smaller amounts are exchanged at a completely different rate, and the commission will be 20%.

Cashless payment

Payment with plastic cards in Bulgaria is welcomed in all establishments except the market, so there is no need to change money in principle. First you need to clarify whether hotels, cafes, shops have a payment terminal. Only "Visa" or "Mastercard" is accepted in Bulgaria.

If you need to get cash in Bulgaria, it is better to withdraw it from an ATM and then go to an exchange office. If you skip the step with the ATM, then you can stumble upon an employee of the Change point of unclean hands, who can write off from the carda large amount. Better use debit cards.

How not to fall for the tricks of scammers?

The most common method of fraud is common among exchange offices. They only sell Bulgarian coins by buying euros. Reverse operations in these establishments are not performed. At the same time, the euro is bought at the selling price!

From the outside it looks like this: tourists come to the Exchange, seeing the exchange rate of the lev to the euro as 1.95 to 1. As soon as the exchange operation is completed, the check is worth a completely different amount, more precisely, another ratio is indicated 1, 57 to 1. As soon as tourists ask for an explanation of the wrong exchange, they receive an answer that the euro is being sold at the rate of 1.96 to 1, but the purchase is made at the price indicated on the check - such a rule. When asked about where such information is indicated, the cashier politely points to the booth door, which just obscures all the numbers from the customer's view.

Wishing to get his money back, the cashier announces that this is not possible now, and the euros are not available at the cash desk of the exchange office. I wonder where they disappear in a few minutes? There is no word on when it will be possible to make a return exchange. Representatives of the exchange offices are not interested in further questions, so they pretend that they do not understand the Russian language and retreat.

Therefore, it is better to request all documents with information about the exchange rate before making the operation. If there is a SELL euro in the ratio of 1.85 to 1, then this is a good rate. In addition to banknotes, you can ask the cashier for stotinki coins to pay for small expenses.

Scammers are in no hurry to submit documents to clients, referring to closed safes, lack of superiors and other circumstances. It's all designed for visitors and inattentive guests of the country. Since it is rare that anyone dares to declare fraud in the courts, the cashiers happily rub their palms, putting the profit in their pocket.

VAT refund

All guests of the country have the right to return VAT in the amount of 20% according to the tax free rules. This can only be done when making a purchase in the amount of more than 1,000 Bulgarian leva within one store.

You can return the legal 20% directly upon departure from the country at a specialized return point located at the airport.