A Guide to Opening a Bank Account in Bulgaria

If you are moving abroad to live and take up employment in Bulgaria you will probably want to open up a bank account at a local bank so that you can get your paycheck deposit into an account automatically. You may also need to open up a bank account so that you may pay utility bills in the country. There is no restriction on opening new bank accounts in Bulgaria. In fact anyone that would like to open up an account in the country is free to do so.

Bank in Bulgaria are typically open from 9 am until 4 pm from Monday through Friday. While these are the normal operating hours it can vary from branch to branch. As a general rule of thumb you can expect banks to open sometime between 8 am and 10 am and you can expect banks in Bulgaria to close sometime between 3 pm and 5 pm in the evenings. There are usually no Saturday hours for banks in Bulgaria.

If you want to open up a bank account of your own in Bulgaria it is a relatively simple process. Both residents and non residents of Bulgaria can open up bank accounts in the country. However you may not be able to find someone in all bank branches that speak your language so you will have to check around. Usually you will have better luck in the cities like Sofia or Varna if you need to have someone that speaks your native language. Banks in Bulgaria are notorious for charging for every little thing including withdrawing money, so you will want to check around and see who has the lowest fees when you are looking for a place to open your new bank account. Once you have found a place that you want to open a bank account at all you will need is your passport and proof of your address in Bulgaria, if you are living in the country. Remember that you are not required to be living in the country. If you are living in the country you can take in a utility bill or a rental contract for proof of your address in Bulgaria.

When you open your account there will be no opening service charges. You will have to be prepared to make a deposit to open the account. Currently there is no minimum amount required so you can open a bank account with a couple of Euros if you want.