The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) intervened following reports about commercial banks imposing unauthorized fees and restrictions for the exchange of leva into euros.

Some banks refused to provide services to non-customers, charged a commission of 15 leva for exchanges, and set limits lower than the legal 30,000 leva per transaction. They also required unnecessary declarations, causing delays. The president of the coordination center for the introduction of the euro, Vladimir Ivanov, confirmed that the BNB is analyzing these practices and emphasized that banks must offer free currency exchange at the official rate of 1.95583 leva per euro for amounts up to 30,000 leva, in the first six months of 2026. For amounts exceeding this limit, banks may require a notice of up to three working days, but cannot impose other restrictions.