Bulgarians are getting rid of their cash savings before the euro switchover
In January 2026, Bulgaria will become the 21st EU country to adopt the single European currency. Cash-loving savers, both large and small, have already begun converting their savings into euros—sometimes at the cost of running afoul of the law.
Nothing seems to be stopping Bulgaria from moving towards the euro, not even the protests of a handful of diehards who blocked the streets of Sofia on Saturday, June 28. They called for a "referendum" on the single currency and the retention of the lev, the Bulgarian currency, according to a report by the public television channel BNT . But their ranks are becoming increasingly thin, according to all the country's media.
Meanwhile, ordinary Bulgarians are trying to get rid of their leva savings, whether they're hidden under their mattresses or in other hiding places at home. This is what the popular newspaper reports in a lengthy investigation. by Sofia 24 Tchassa , painting the portrait of an entire generation that swears only by cash.
“These people remember the transition from a planned economy to a market economy [in the 1990s], marked by upheavals, scandals and abuses. Since then, they have doubted everything: the reliability of banks and institutions in general. They receive their pensions in cash and keep their money at home ,” the newspaper writes. “For their part, their children help them make ends meet by giving them cash in turn, which these ret
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