The National Bank of Bulgaria has adopted amendments to its rules on payment accounts and payment operations and to its licensing and oversight framework for payment service providers and settlement finality systems, largely to prepare for the euro becoming Bulgaria’s official currency from 1 January 2026 and to reflect new EU requirements on instant credit transfers and digital operational resilience. Under the changes to Ordinance No. 3, provisions governing the execution of credit transfers and direct debits in Bulgarian lev and in currencies other than the lev will fall away from the euro changeover date to the extent that the technical and business requirements for euro credit transfers and direct debits are set at EU level under Regulation (EU) No 260/2012. The existing national regime requiring payment service providers to notify the National Bank of Bulgaria of major operational or security incidents related to payment services is also repealed, with incident requirements to follow Chapter III of Regulation (EU) 2022/2554. Amendments to Ordinance No. 16 add provisions reflecting the National Bank of Bulgaria’s supervisory powers in line with the Eurosystem oversight framework for electronic payment instruments, schemes and arrangements after the euro changeover. They also specify the documents and information required for BNB-licensed payment institutions and electronic money institutions to participate in a settlement finality payment system under Article 130a of the Payment Services and Payment Systems Act and Regulation (EU) 2024/886, remove settlement-in-BNB provisions tied to the discontinuation of the BNB-operated RTGS system RINGS, and convert certain payment oversight-related fees into euros with rounding that reduces the amounts payable.
National Bank of Bulgaria 2025-10-06
National Bank of Bulgaria amends payment services ordinances for euro adoption from 1 January 2026 and EU instant payments and DORA alignment
The National Bank of Bulgaria has amended its rules on payment accounts, operations, and its licensing and oversight framework to prepare for euro adoption on 1 January 2026 and align with new EU requirements. Changes include repealing national provisions for credit transfers and direct debits in non-euro currencies, aligning incident reporting with EU standards, updating supervisory powers and documentation requirements for payment institutions, converting settlement-related fees to euros, and removing provisions tied to the BNB-operated RTGS system RINGS.