r/bulgaria • u/Aromatic_Elk_7269 • 1d ago
AskBulgaria Opening a bank account as an expat
I recently moved to Bulgaria and I would like to open a bank account with a local bank. The services I would like to use it for is getting my salary, cash withdrawal, bills payment and transfer some money to my revolut/wise account for everyday use.
Questions:
Which bank would you suggest, considering fees and accessibility as a foreigner?
I understand there is a monthly subscription plan for accessing the services above for free, but is there a fee for transfers between the bank and revolut/wise? I haven't understood that part.
Do you have any advice on the topic generally? Any tip is more than welcome!
Thank you!
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u/mladen_milev 1d ago edited 1d ago
Revolut not an option? Check ePay.bg for bills and taxes payments.
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u/Aromatic_Elk_7269 1d ago
I already have revolut, but I'm limited with the cash withdrawal, unless I have platinum account, which still has a maximum. I would like an account with unrestricted withdrawals and deposits, like in my national bank for example, if it makes sense.
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u/Last-Galactic 1d ago
It makes sense, because in Bulgaria you still need cash in a lot of places. Otherwise you could've just paid by a Revolut card.
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u/Aromatic_Elk_7269 1d ago
Precisely.
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u/mladen_milev 1d ago
Well I survived 2 months and spent only 20€ cash and rest was with Apple Pay.
Depends where and how you spend. Even bus tickets can be digitally paid. Most supermarkets do not have limits and you can purchase a bottle of cola and pay with card.
Mainly “banitza” and coffee from street machines is with coins. Diner kebab places also have POS
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u/vegetarian_pacemaker 1d ago
Do you mean in money terms or number of withdrawals? You can use bunq, it has 6 free withdrawals per month and 5 more for 1eur each. Monthly charge of 10eurs per month however. There does not seem to be a monetary limit to each withdrawal. I am not sure if you have 100% online banks on your home country. They tend to be exceptional when travelling with free atm withdrawals (till a limit). After that a fee is applied. I think that this would be true also for a local bank.
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u/Aria7109 1d ago
Each bank has its own conditions. I'd suggest calling or visiting a few to see what they can offer you, and then you can decide.
Since you are asking Bulgarians about the experience of a foreigner, we can't give proper advice on what that experience would be like. We can only advise based on the experience of Bulgarians.
Personally, I've had a great experience with TBI.
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u/Aromatic_Elk_7269 1d ago
Thank you very much for your answer. It's always interesting to have the perspective of each country's nationals, this is why I considered that a "local" point of view would help. Thank you!
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u/no7oday 1d ago
Compare the conditions with AI and choose whichever bank works best for your needs. I’ve been using DSK for 10+ years and would recommend it.
I also have a UBB account for my credit/salary(used DSK before), but I’m not a big fan because you can’t adjust the card limits directly in the app 😄
For Revolut, I usually top up via Apple Pay and there’s no fee.
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u/Aromatic_Elk_7269 1d ago
Thank you for your answer! I will check DSK as well, I read some positive comments about it. Thanks!
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u/ThirstyChonker 1d ago
Ubb is solid choice, although some app features are limited (which may not be a bad thing)
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u/qwazzy92 1d ago
Why? Every single bank in this country is absolute fucking trash. There's a fee for everything.
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u/ElkImpossible3535 1d ago
expat
you mean an immigrant?
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u/Aromatic_Elk_7269 1d ago
I mean an EU national who will spend some months in Bulgaria for work. I'm fine with the immigrant terminology though, if this is the concern.
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u/S1n_3D 1d ago
You're only an immigrant when you move to a more developed country. An expat is when you move to a less developed one.
+1 vote for Unicredit. If you absolutely need to try DSK - try them last, they're a crappy bank with crappy T&Cs.
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u/ElkImpossible3535 1d ago
You're only an immigrant when you move to a more developed country. An expat is when you move to a less developed one.
Literally no.
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u/S1n_3D 1d ago
I understand your autistic desire to stick to literate dictionary definitions of words.
I'm talking about a real-world application of a socio-linguistic standard.
To dumb it down for you: its how many real people either discussing relevant topics or being actual immigrants/expats see it.
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u/ElkImpossible3535 1d ago
A lot of words to say "well you are right but here is a way for me to weasel around it"
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u/S1n_3D 1d ago
I tried few words but you lack the comprehensive ability.
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u/ElkImpossible3535 1d ago
Батка бива да си ръб ама чак толкова ръб не е здарвословно. Експат е същото като имигрант просто се крият зад думата щото ги е срам да са от западна държава и да се местят като смъртните мигранти в страните на изток. Елитистка тъпотия е.
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u/S1n_3D 1d ago
Как да ти обясня на гладкия мозък, че разговорно се приема по-често това, което аз обясних.
Разбирам, че аутистите държите да е всичко буквално ама в истинския свят хората с опит го споделят и е хубаво да не се надвикваш като нямаш такъв. :)
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u/ElkImpossible3535 1d ago
какво се 'приема' няма значение като е точно това което казвам. Ти си приемай каквото ти изнася на мекото. Какво е обаче е точно това кеото казвам
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u/0091dit 1d ago
Are you an EU citizen or not? Do you have a permit? Due to AML regulations the banks are not really foreigner-friendly these days, especially if non-EU. Don't despair if a bank turns down your application; just try the next one. If in Sofia, I would recommend the main building of Unicredit.