We can still pay with both levs and euros for another 5 days. From February 1st, only the single European currency remains. The currency exchange process is proceeding normally, according to data from the Coordination Center to the Euro Mechanism, and in 3 weeks, institutions have identified 71 cases of attempts to pay with counterfeit euro banknotes.
In a few days from January 16th to 22nd, there were 23 new attempts to pay with counterfeit euro banknotes, including so-called prop money. 11 pre-trial proceedings have been initiated. Institutions assured the Council of Ministers that the market is saturated with euros, there are sufficient quantities of both banknotes and coins, and the withdrawal of Bulgarian levs is proceeding at a progressive pace.
According to the latest data from the BNB, there are about 10 billion levs on the market, which remain and will be withdrawn in the coming weeks and months. An appeal was made for people not to use 'Bulgarian Posts' as banks, so as not to quickly exhaust the available funds in the post offices, and in small settlements, where there are no bank branches, these are the only places where people can exchange their money.
The institutions also noted that if several thousand complaints were received at the beginning of January, now citizens are signaling much fewer institutions. It also became clear that there was no reported increase in prices.
Vladimir Ivanov, Chairman of the Coordination Center to the Euro Mechanism: "There is a lot of talk in Bulgaria from the point of view of what is a feeling of expensiveness, of market interaction. Let's all be more rational and have more information from the point of view of prices, from the point of view of the currency, and from the point of view of everything that could happen." Stefan Tsvetkov, Chief Cashier of the BNB: "200 euros is a legal tender, and 500 euros also permanently retains its value in circulation. All merchants must accept them."
Vladimir Ivanov, Chairman of the Coordination Center to the Euro Mechanism: "There is a lot of talk in Bulgaria from the point of view of what is a feeling of expensiveness, of market interaction. Let's all be more rational and have more information from the point of view of prices, from the point of view of the currency, and from the point of view of everything that could happen."
Stefan Tsvetkov, Chief Cashier of the BNB: "200 euros is a legal tender, and 500 euros also permanently retains its value in circulation. All merchants must accept them."
The BNB's comment came after last week we showed in reports cases of people trying to pay with a 200 euro banknote, but large stores refuse them, but it is a legal tender.