On 1 January 2026 Bulgaria became the 21st country to officially take on the euro as its national currency, a move that came nearly 20 years after the Bulkan nation joined the European Union (EU).

The eurozone is a group of European Union countries that have adopted the euro (€) as their common currency. Countries currently part of the eurozone are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

Bulgaria's inclusion in the eurozone means that 358 million people are now connected by the euro

Eurozone Monetary Policy is collectively managed by the European Central Bank (ECB). For citizens and businesses, having a shared currency with other countries can make things like travel easier and enable smoother cross-border trade within the eurozone.

Six EU member states currently maintain their own national currencies. Five of these; Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden are required to join eventually while the sixth, Denmark, has a legal opt-out.

If you are based in the UK and need to send money to Bulgaria or anywhere else for that matter GlobalWebPay can help. Since 2010 they have assisted businesses, charities and individuals to make secure payments from the UK to over 200 countries across the globe.

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