From February, bank transfers will be faster

11.01.2022

FROM FEBRUARY, BANK TRANSFERS WILL BE FASTER

One hour. This is how much it will take all the transfers that consumers and companies make to each other through the Bulgarian banks since February. At the moment, such a fast transfer is paid extra, which costs more to companies.

The BNB assures that banks will no longer have grounds to charge extra for fast transactions.

Currently, payments are made three times a day through the BISERA system and if they are transferred in the afternoon, for example, they may not arrive until the next day. For instant translation is the RINGS system, the use of which is paid extra.

With the changes, transfers will take place through the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). In practice, payment orders will be executed 24 hours a day, on all calendar days of the year.

For now, payments to the budget are excluded from the innovation. There, the BGN transactions will be transferred to SEPA at a later stage.

However, facilitating the bank transfer will cost money, as at present. Withdrawing and depositing money at cash desks in bank offices is traditionally many times more expensive than online banking.

Since the beginning of the year, in addition, a number of banks have again increased their fees. According to the BNB, withdrawing money from an ATM of the bank from which the card was issued costs an average of BGN 0.25, and from a foreign bank - BGN 1.15. When this is done at the counter, the service costs an average of BGN 2.81, or 0.41 % of the withdrawn amount, with a minimum payment of BGN 3.50.

According to BNB data for the 11 months of the past year, banks received net income from fees and commissions of BGN 1.12 billion, and for the whole of 2020 they received BGN 1.04 billion.