- Payments in Euro and Foreign Currency
Municipal Bank AD offers all types of payments in Bulgaria and abroad – in euro and in foreign currencies.
In addition, payments in favour of clients of Municipal Bank AD in euro and foreign currencies are received from other Bulgarian and foreign banks worldwide.
The Bank executes customer payment orders for transfers to accounts in euro and foreign currencies to other Bulgarian and foreign banks, as well as intrabank transfers.
For the execution of a credit transfer in euro or foreign currency, the Bank accepts payment documents (payment orders) submitted on paper at the counters of its branches/business centres or electronically via remote access channels – online and mobile banking. Orders are processed in chronological order of receipt, indicating a reference number, date, hour, and minute. The client pays the applicable fees and commissions in accordance with the effective TARIFF of Municipal Bank PLC for Interest, Fees and Commissions for Corporate Customers.
When executing payment orders, Municipal Bank AD considers the participation (reachability) of the beneficiary’s Payment Service Provider (PSP) in the relevant payment systems, including for instant euro payments BLINK (SEPA INST).
Payments in Euro
Credit Transfer within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)*
• Standard credit transfer to payment service providers within the SEPA – same business day if payment documents are received by the Bank by 8:00 p.m.;
• Express credit transfer to payment service providers within the SEPA, if payment documents are received by the Bank by 3:00 p.m. – same business day;
• Instant euro transfer BLINK (SEPA INST) – available 24 hours a day, every calendar day of the year. The beneficiary’s account is credited within seconds after initiation of the payment.
* SEPA – Single Euro Payments Area.
The SEPA includes payment service providers from all EU Member States, EEA countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway – as well as other countries outside the EU/EEA: Switzerland, the United Kingdom (including Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man), Monaco, Andorra, San Marino, Vatican City, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, and Serbia.
Credit Transfer outside the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)
- Standard credit transfer to payment service providers outside the SEPA, received by the Bank by 3:00 p.m. – executed on the next business day;
- Express credit transfer to payment service providers outside the SEPA, received by the Bank by 3:00 p.m. – executed on the same business day.
Payments in Foreign Currency
Standard Credit Transfer
A credit transfer is executed as standard on the next business day, provided that payment documents are received by the Bank by 3:00 p.m.
Express Credit Transfer
A credit transfer is executed as express if payment documents are received by the Bank by 3:00 p.m. on the same business day. The Bank may refuse to execute an express credit transfer if it cannot meet the execution deadline. In such cases, the transfer is processed as a standard credit transfer by the end of the next business day.
Payment documents received after the specified cut-off time are deemed received on the next business day.
The Bank may execute transfers in foreign currencies other than US dollars in more than 120 currencies, applying the US dollar exchange rate against the payment currency on the payment date, as determined by the correspondent bank.
- Participation of MUNICIPAL BANK AD in Payment Systems for the Execution of Payment Services
- BISERA – standard euro credit transfers to PSPs in Bulgaria reachable via BISERA;
- STEP2 – standard euro credit transfers to PSPs in Bulgaria and the SEPA;
- SEPA INST / TIPS – instant euro credit transfers to PSPs in Bulgaria and the SEPA;
- TARGET2 – express euro transfers to PSPs in Bulgaria and the SEPA;
- SWIFT – standard and express credit transfers in euro and foreign currencies outside the SEPA.
- “Verification of Payee” Service
As of 9 October 2025, Municipal Bank AD offers the “Verification of Payee” (VoP) service for all initiated euro payments – instant, standard, and express credit transfers – pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/886, amending Regulations (EU) No 260/2012 and (EU) 2021/1230 and Directives 98/26/EC and (EU) 2015/2366 with regard to instant credit transfers.
The “Verification of Payee” (VoP) service is available if the beneficiary’s payment service provider is in one of the following jurisdictions:
Euro area countries offering the VoP service as of 9 October 2025. Payment service providers in the Republic of Bulgaria are required to start offering the service no later than one year after Bulgaria joins the euro area, i.e. from 1 January 2027.
Countries participating in the SEPA. This includes all EU Member States, EEA countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway – as well as Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, Vatican City, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Payment service providers from SEPA countries outside the euro area (including the UK) are required to start offering the service by July 2027.
At present, not all payment service providers from the listed countries have joined the system for providing the “Verification of Payee” (VoP) service.
The service allows ordering customers to verify, prior to executing a transfer, whether the beneficiary’s IBAN corresponds to the beneficiary’s name. Verification is performed if the beneficiary’s account is held with a payment service provider accessible for the “Verification of Payee” service. This enables users to identify discrepancies before confirming the payment, thereby avoiding fraud, errors, and legal complications.
The service is available to the Bank’s clients at branch/business centre counters, as well as through remote access channels – online and mobile banking. It is also available for internal euro transfers.
More information is available on the official website of the European Payments Council (EPC): https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/what-we-do/other-schemes/verification-payee
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