Bulgaria will join the euro area in the new year, and will officially adopt the euro as its currency. After one month of dual circulation, Bulgaria’s legacy currency, the lev, will be withdrawn from circulation. It will be possible to exchange Bulgarian lev banknotes for euros commission-free at the Banka Slovenije counters in January and February of next year.
Bulgaria is set to become the 21st member of the euro area on 1 January 2026. There will be a period of dual circulation in Bulgaria between 1 and 31 January, when it will be possible to make payments in lev and in euros, but after this period using the lev will no longer be possible. The exchange rate between the two currencies has already been set at 1.95583 Bulgarian lev to the euro. More detailed information about the introduction of the euro can be found on the website of the Bulgarian National Bank.
In line with the ECB’s established practice, Banka Slovenije will exchange lev banknotes commission-free between 1 January and 28 February 2026. It will not be possible to exchange coins or banknotes of older series (issued prior to 1999), which do not have the status of legal tender. The banknotes can be exchanged at the Banka Slovenije counters (the location and opening hours can be found on our website). The maximum sum that any individual can exchange on a single day is 2,000 Bulgarian lev (EUR 1,022.58). After the end of this period, it will no longer be possible to exchange Bulgarian lev at Banka Slovenije. Here it should be noted that as a matter of policy Slovenian banks do not exchange Bulgarian lev for euros.
Anyone who wants to exchange Bulgarian lev for euros from March onwards will be able to do so in Bulgaria, under the conditions set by the Bulgarian National Bank.