The European Central Bank and the Bulgarian National Bank will adopt the euro as the official currency in Bulgaria effective midnight 00:00 (EET) on January 1, 2026.
We’ve created this document to answer your questions about the adoption of the euro in Bulgaria, and the retirement of the Bulgarian lev (BGN) currency.
What is the effective date/time Checkout.com will no longer accept BGN in the payload request?
Midnight 00:00 (EET) on January 1, 2026.
What happens if I submit BGN transactions after January 1, 2026?
After January 1, 2026, we’ll remove the BGN currency from processing profiles and implement a block against the lev. Our platform will then decline any BGN transactions with a 43102 - Policy Decline Rules response code.
Must all banks and payment cards convert to EUR by January 1, 2026?
Yes. The schemes expect issuers to decline authorizations for BGN payments processed after midnight 00:00 (EET) on January 1, 2026.
Mastercard has said they will still send these requests to the issuer until January 3, 2026, and the issuer will decline. After this date, Mastercard will decline the request directly.
What happens with transactions authorized before January 1, 2026, that are captured or settled on or after January 1, 2026?
You should capture original transactions in the same currency as the authorization i.e. BGN. For settlement, we will convert any settlements after January 1, 2026, to euros (EUR).
What will happen if a consumer makes a purchase in BGN, and then requests a refund after January 1, 2026?
You must send EUR for all refund authorizations for transactions processed after January 1, 2026. For transactions processed before January 1, you can send the first refund in BGN, and we’ll convert this to EUR.
What if I pre-authorize a transaction in BGN before January 1, 2026, and then request a final authorization after January 1, 2026?
You must complete the final authorization in EUR after January 1, 2026.
How will the schemes process chargebacks sales completed before January 1, 2026?
Mastercard will allow chargebacks processing in BGN for up to 120 days after the initial purchase. Chargebacks after 120 days must be settled using EUR or USD dispute amounts as applicable. For Visa, disputes for transactions before the conversion date will continue to be processed in BGN.
For JCB, disputed transactions before the conversion date will continue to be processed in BGN up to December 31, 2026.
If the schemes credit chargeback funds to a cardholder, this will be in EUR, at the applicable exchange rate.
What is the legal fixed exchange rate from Bulgarian lev to the euro?
In line with the Council of the European Union’s announcement, this is set at 1.95583 BGN to 1 EUR.
Will issuers in Bulgaria consider EUR presentment prior to January 1, 2026, as foreign transactions and charge fees?
The schemes have confirmed that as EUR will not be the official currency of Bulgaria until January 1, 2026, it’s likely that issuers will treat EUR transactions processed before this date as foreign currency transactions. As a result, FX fees may be applied according to issuers’ policies.
Will there be an impact on interchange fees?
There is no impact on interchange fees. The only change will be a currency adjustment on government payment caps currently in BGN, which the schemes will amend to EUR. We’ve published details of these changes in our pricing and interchange update.
How are JCB and American Express responding to the change?
JCB and American Express will align in the same way as Visa and Mastercard.
Will there be any changes to Checkout.com settlement reports?
No, your settlement reports will stay as they are now.