Following Bulgaria’s accession to the euro area on 1 January 2026, the National Central Banks (NCBs) of the euro area, including the Central Bank of Cyprus, will be exchanging specific series/denominations of Bulgarian lev banknotes, free of charge, from 2 January to 2 March 2026, based on the fixed exchange rate (1 euro = 1.95583 BGN).
The Central Bank of Cyprus said in a press release on Wednesday, 31 December that the maximum amount to be exchanged is 2,000 BGN for any given person/transaction on any one day. For identification purposes, customers must present their identity card, as otherwise the exchange cannot be carried out. Coins will not be exchanged, it added.
The banknotes accepted for exchange are BGN 5 (1999, 2009 and 2020), BGN 10 (1999, 2008 and 2020), BGN 20 (1999, 2007 and 2020), BGN 50 (1999, 2006 and 2019) and BGN 100 (2003 and 2018).
The hours of service are Monday to Friday, 08:30–13:30 (8.30am to 1.30pm).
(Source: CNA)
