Austria steps in to save Bulgarian lev holders before euro switch
Swiss residents holding Bulgarian lev may soon face difficulties with currency exchange. With Swiss banks no longer offering the service, travellers may need to go abroad. Austria’s central bank, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), has stepped in to provide a temporary exchange rate solution ahead of Bulgaria’s euro to usd adoption.
The OeNB will exchange Bulgarian lev for euros from 2 January to 2 March 2026. The service is free and available at its cash desks in Vienna and Innsbruck. Each person can exchange up to 2,000 lev per day at a fixed rate of 1.95583 levs per euro.
Not all lev banknotes and coins qualify for exchange. Excluded items include older series without legal tender status and 1-lev and 2-lev notes from the 1999 series. The OeNB, Austria’s central bank since 1923, is supporting Bulgaria’s transition to the euro by offering this service. Swiss banks have halted lev exchanges due to the end of interbank trading. Once Bulgaria adopts the euro, exchanging lev in Switzerland will become even harder.
The OeNB’s exchange programme runs for two months, ending on 2 March 2026. Those needing to convert lev must visit Austria or authorised agents in Bulgaria. After this period, options for currency exchange will be severely limited.
