Just 11 Days Remain for Fee-Free Lev-to-Euro Exchanges at Commercial Banks in Bulgaria

Exactly 11 days remain before the deadline for free lev-to-euro exchanges at commercial banks in Bulgaria. So far, nearly 93% of all banknotes and coins previously in circulation have been withdrawn, leaving around BGN 2.3 billion yet to be exchanged.

The exchange of levs into euros will remain free of charge indefinitely only at the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). The question now is what will happen to the remaining currency still outside the banking system.

For Ida, years of saving small change in a piggy bank have finally paid off. After waiting almost six months, she decided to exchange her savings.

"I exchanged a little over 200 leva into euros, so I received about €100 in cash," she said.

Asked what she planned to spend the money on, she replied:

"It will be for Greece, for the seaside. I kept saying I would go, but at the beginning of the year there was no chance of queuing and waiting with everyone else. Now the time finally felt right."

Ida chose to exchange her money at the BNB. Had she opted to use a commercial bank after 1 July, she would have been charged a fee, the size of which would be determined by each bank individually.

James Yolovski, Secretary General of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria: "As of today, the percentage has reached 93%. We expect a further slight increase in the final days, as branches are already seeing a modest rise in activity from people who have waited until the last moment."

Nevertheless, around 7% of the banknotes and coins that were previously in circulation have still not been withdrawn.

"This is entirely normal. Some money is lost, some remains abroad with tourists, and there is always a portion that is never exchanged," Yolovski explained.

"More than three billion Bulgarian coins, ranging from one stotinka to two leva, were in circulation. Their combined weight is nearly 10,500 tonnes."

The one- and two-stotinka coins were among the most widely used before Bulgaria adopted the euro. How quickly the remaining coins will be exchanged remains to be seen.

Others, such as Neli, have already converted all their levs into euros and are now visiting the central bank to consolidate their accumulated euro coins.

"I've prepared €300. I save every day," she said.

More than €8.4 billion is now estimated to be in circulation among the public.

.