BTA: Bulgarians started paying euro in stores

Bulgaria joined the euro area on 1 January 2026. For 1 month, both currencies - euro and left - will operate in the country.

"At the minute our telephone lines are calm. We have received very fewer individual notifications, mainly concerning the refusal to accept payments in euro or the refusal to accept payments in the left," said Alexander Kolyachev, acting president of the Committee on Consumer Protection on Bulgarian national tv (BNT).

Under the law, traders cannot spend the remainder simultaneously in euro and lefts. If this happens, the consumer may first refuse and then lodge a complaint with the Consumer Protection Commission to make the transactionShe could have been examined. The client may pay in the left or euro if there is not adequate cash in 1 of these currencies. In addition, there is simply a limit on the number of coins that can be utilized for payment of a maximum of 50.

On Friday's Facebook post, president of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde wrote that after Bulgaria's accession as the 21st associate of the euro area, around 358 million Europeans are now utilizing the euro as their currency.

For most young, enterprising Bulgarians surviving in cities, this is an optimistic step. For the older, agrarian and more conservative part of society, the replacement of the Bulgarian left by the euro creates fear and aversion, informs the BBC.

Source: BTA ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ BBC

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