Banking in Bulgaria

The majority of foreign investors will need to set up a bank account with a Bulgarian bank in order to facilitate the payment of various bills. There aren't any familiar English High Street banks that operate in Bulgaria (even HSBC) so we have produced this document in order to make the process of choosing the right bank for the services you will require.

The majority of the bills in Bulgaria (telephone, electricity, water, internet etc) are either paid in person at a specified office for each company, electronically via an online transfer or by setting up a direct debit from your Bulgarian bank account. In order to pay electronically people need to register as a customer at www.epay.bg . The site is still only available in Bulgarian but we have spoken to their head office and they assured us that they are working on the English version and will be up and running in the very near future. The site is very similar to the way www.paypal.com works and it currently works with all major banks and utility companies in Bulgaria. It is free for customers and once you register your card, you will be able to pay bills online at no extra cost. The system currently works with credit cards- MasterCard and Visa but it charges 2.9% of the amount due for each transaction. However, it is completely free with debit cards from Bulgarian Banks.

We recommend clients to use epay as you would be able to see and accept the amount you will be due to pay.

Chequebooks are not used by banks in Bulgaria as a payment method! Thus, you will not get one (or a paying in book) when you open your bank account.

Clients will initially need to walk into a branch in order to open a bank account. Generally the banks in the bigger towns and resorts employ English speaking staff. However, if no one is available they might be able to reschedule an appointment for you with an English speaking employee.

Info on HVB/Hebros

UniCredit Bulbank will be the name of the new bank which will be created from the merger of Bulbank, HVB Bank Biochim and Hebros Bank. The umbrella brand 'UniCredit' will be closely linked to the names of the CEE banks, members of UniCredit Group. After the full integration of the three banks in Bulgaria during 2007, UniCredit Bulbank will be the largest bank holding 32% share of the Bulgarian banking market.

Procedure for opening bank account