Swiss banks stop exchange of Bulgarian lev as euro introduced in 2026

When the euro is introduced in Bulgaria on January 1, 2026, it will be difficult to exchange the previous Bulgarian national currency, the lev, in Switzerland. Local banks have stopped the exchange. The banks are no longer able to resell the lev banknotes on the interbank market, Zürcher Kantonalbank explained on Tuesday in response to an enquiry from AWP news agency. ZKB is therefore already no longer offering trading in Bulgarian lev notes. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox According to ZKB, interbank trading activities were gradually discontinued following the announcement of the changeover to the euro. Against this background, it is likely to be generally difficult to exchange lev in Switzerland. Exchange possible in Austria Swiss citizens who still have Bulgarian levs and would like to exchange them will likely have to go abroad. Austria offers one option: the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) will exchange lev banknotes for euros free of charge from ...