Bulgarian Banks Rule Out ATM Shutdowns During New Year’s Currency Changeover

Jerusalem, 30 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Bulgarian ATMs will be loaded with leva until the last day of 2025, with possible temporary interruptions in the operation of specific devices due to technical reasons as the nation switches to the Euro on January 1. This was stated to BTA by the three largest commercial banks by assets in Bulgaria and the company “Borika”, which builds and maintains the technological infrastructure for the payment industry in the country.

There is no planned shutdown of Bulgarian ATMs except for the already announced interval from 9:00 PM on December 31 to 1:00 AM on January 1 for technical reconfiguration.

From January 1, 2026, the euro will become the official means of payment in the country along with the Bulgarian lev, and from the beginning of February, the period of dual circulation of the two currencies will end and the euro will be the only legal tender in Bulgaria.

Although Bulgarian leva will be accepted until the end of January next year, change in retail outlets will be returned in euros, except in the event of a temporary lack of cash, and cash withdrawals from ATMs will only be possible in euros. For this reason, Bulgarian banks have planned a period between 21:00 on December 31 and 01:00 on January 1 for reconfiguring ATMs, during which the devices will not work.

All ATMs with a deposit function remain available for depositing leva, with occasional temporary difficulties in the operation of specific devices possible, related to technical reasons or filling their capacity, but not a systematic decommissioning, the bank, which has nearly 1,000 ATMs throughout the country.

ATMs with a deposit function, that is, those that allow cash deposits, are subject to increased workload this year, as depositing levs into commercial banks is the most convenient way to exchange currency, as the funds are converted into euros automatically and without fees. Therefore, these devices may experience short technical interruptions due to the time required to be loaded with the deposited levs, and in some cases, interruptions are also possible due to the poor quality of the deposited banknotes.

Since the beginning of the year, there has been a growth of about 35 percent in the volumes of deposited amounts through ATMs, and traditionally, increased customer activity is observed in the last days of December, UniCredit Bulbank (UBB) said.

Technical problems are possible in some places due to the poor quality of the banknotes, which could lead to the suspension of the deposit function, the bank emphasizes.

In this regard, UBB called on citizens to comply with the proper use of installment ATMs, avoiding inserting unusable and worn banknotes into an ATM, as well as any objects other than banknotes. This affects the performance of the devices and may lead to a temporary suspension of the ATM’s operation.

Throughout 2026, citizens will be able to exchange levs for euros at the cash desks of commercial banks in the country, and until mid-year this will happen without fees and commissions. After this date, commercial banks have the option of applying fees for the currency conversion. Citizens can also exchange levs in 2026 at the branches of “Bulgarian Posts”, while the Bulgarian National Bank will exchange levs for euros without fees and commissions indefinitely.