Bulgarians are putting money into banks en masse before expected euro adoption

People are also rushing to deposit the Bulgarian leva they hold in cash. This will make it easier for them to exchange it into euros, as banks will do it automatically on January 1, without fees. In September, 325 million leva (157 million euros) were deposited into banks by households, which is 27% more than in September 2024. This process has intensified since the beginning of June, when Bulgaria received positive reports about entering the eurozone. Then the banks temporarily abolished the lev deposit fees.

As the lev deposits in banks increase, the interest rates for the national currency decrease. If a year ago the average yield was over 1% per year, now it is 0.8%. For euro accounts, the interest rates are higher - in September the average annual interest rate is 1.31%.