Bulgaria Buyer - Opening a Bulgarian Bank Account


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Alexander Nevski Church, Sofia, Bulgaria

OPENING A BULGARIAN BANK ACOUNT

It will be necessary to open a Bulgarian bank account at some stage either during or after the buying process. All that is necessary to open an account is a valid passport.
Banking hours are 9.00am to 4.00pm.

We opened a euro account on our first viewing trip, as it was a free service provided by the representative of the agent. He drove us to the bank and assisted us by acting as a translator between ourselves and the bank. We had to deposit a small amount of 10 euros in order to ensure the account was kept open until we were ready to use it as apparently the Bulgarian banks have a habit of closing accounts which have a zero balance.

With hindsight it is worth checking a number of banks in order to decide which may be more suitable for management of your account from long distance. Many Bulgarian banks now offer an internet service, but this needs to be requested at the time of opening or on a subsequent visit.

When deciding on a bank account, look for a Bulgarian bank that can offer the following:

An interest bearing current account, if possible

Low fees or none at all, when receiving foreign currency transfers

Full internet banking - with no monthly charges

Low initial deposit to open the account

English speaking bank staff

Low fees or none at all for withdrawals

Most now offer internet banking services.

Many of the Bulgarian banks charge a fee for receiving foreign currency transfers. However, this is not necessarily a fixed fee. In many cases it is a percentage of the amount transferred.

It may not be possible to find a bank which matches all the criteria above, but it may be possible to find a Bulgarian bank which does meet most of these requirements.

The following Bulgarian banks are worth considering:

ING Bank
CB Allianz Bulgaria
Bulbank
Postbank
First Investment Bank
Raiffeisen Bank

Contact telephone numbers and examples of charges

FIRST INVESTMENT BANK
Tel: +359 2 910 0100

Charge for receiving funds into a Euro account	0.15%
Charge for transferring funds from a Euro account	0.15%

ALLIANZ BANK
Tel: +359 2 921 5404

Charge for receiving funds into a Euro account	Less than 200 euros - 5 euros more than 200 euros - 0.1% (min 10 euros, max 200 euros)
Charge for transferring funds from a Euro account	Same as receiving funds

UBB (UNITED BULGARIAN BANK)
Tel: +359 2 811 2800

Charge for receiving funds into a Euro account	Up to 10,000 leva - 16 lev Above 10,000 leva - 0.2% (max 400 lev)
Charge for transferring funds from a Euro account	Up to 20,000 leva - 35 leva Above 20,000 leva - 0.2% (max 400 leva)

DZI BANK

Tel: +359 2 930 7136

Charge for receiving funds into a Euro account	Up to 2,500 euros - 5 euros Above 2,500 euros - 0.1% (min 10 euros, max 100 euros)
Charge for transferring funds from a Euro account	Same as receiving

RAIFFEISEN BANK
Tel: +359 2 919 85101

We understand that this bank has a good internet banking service

POSTBANK
Tel: +359 2 988 8100

ING
Tel: +359 2 917 6400

Update 23/2/09

Despite opening a Bulgarian bank account during our first visit, to date we have had no use for this account, as all rentals have been paid in Euros and transferred to our UK accounts. Council tax and utility bills can usually paid by the rental agent.

Page last updated: 23rd February 2009