Form a Bulgarian company
Bulgarian company bank account 2026

Bulgarian company bank account: the bank comes before the company

Updated 13 November 2026Bank tariffs of January to November 2026About 10 minutes to read
The short answer

In Bulgaria the first bank step comes before registration: the capital is paid into a bank, and the bank's note goes into the Commercial Register file. One euro of capital is enough.

For the operating account, Bulgarian banks charge a company with a foreign owner a review fee before they decide, and two of them say in writing that it is not refunded if they say no. Choose the bank before you pay it.

Compare the review fees See the order of steps
Paid before the answer €100 to €420 to have a Bulgarian bank review a company with a foreign owner, before it says yes or no
Fibank €100 to €200Texim €205DSK €420

Bulgaria gives you an EU company for one euro of capital, 10% tax on profit and a register anyone can read. Then you learn the bank is not the last step but the first, and that the bank you pick may charge you to look at your papers. Neither is a trap if you know it in advance. Pick the bank for its price and its answer time, send everything at once, and the account follows the registration.

Key takeaways

  • The registration file needs a bank note of paid-in capital from a bank of your choice; one euro is the minimum.
  • Since 1 January 2026 Bulgaria uses the euro; lev accounts were converted at 1.95583.
  • DSK, Fibank and Texim charge a review fee of €100 to €420 for a foreign-owned company; Fibank and Texim keep it if they refuse.
  • The Bulgarian National Bank's rules let banks identify you by video, and banks price powers of attorney signed abroad.
  • The owner entry needs a contact person in Bulgaria when no one in the company lives there.
  • Deposits are guaranteed to €100,000 per bank, but not at branches of other EU banks, which use their home scheme.
Chapter 1

The order things happen in for an EOOD

Elsewhere you register the company and then look for a bank. The Registry Agency's own guide to registering a company lists a note of paid-in capital from "a bank of your choice" among the documents. So the bank appears twice.

  1. 1
    Capital account at a bankOpened in the name of the company being formed. The capital, from one euro, goes in, and the bank issues its note.Bank, before registration
  2. 2
    Founding papers signedThe founding act, the manager's consent and the declarations, signed in Bulgaria or before a notary where you live and apostilled.You
  3. 3
    Filed with the Commercial RegisterWith the capital note, the seat address and the owner details.Registry Agency
  4. 4
    The operating accountThe capital is released and the company opens its current account, at the same bank or another, after that bank's review.Bank, after registration

The capital account is cheap on the published tariffs. DSK charges €11.25 to open one for capital up to €2,500 and €16.20 for the certificate in Bulgarian, and adds €13.50 a month only if the account is still open after six months. Fibank charges €12.78 to open one at a branch and nothing to keep it.

1
Key takeaway

Choose the bank for the operating account before you open the capital account, and use the same one.

Chapter 2

What the euro changed for Bulgarian company accounts

BGN€

Older guides still talk about lev and BGN 2 of capital. Since Bulgaria joined the euro area, a new company account is a euro account, and the euro has been the only legal tender since 1 February 2026.

1.95583Lev to one euro, the fixed rate used to convert every account on 1 January 2026
€1Minimum capital for an EOOD, now written in euro
SEPAEuro transfers to other European banks are payments in the company's own currency

For a company paid by European clients this removes a step: invoices, account and capital are all in euro. A company formed now has its capital written in euro from the start.

2
Key takeaway

Ignore any guide quoting lev; a new Bulgarian company banks in euro from day one.

Chapter 3

Review fees: what you pay a Bulgarian bank to consider you

This is the cost foreign founders don't see coming. Bulgarian banks publish a "preliminary review" fee for a Bulgarian company with a foreign owner, charged before the decision. Set where you live to see year one at three banks, from their own tariffs.

The owner lives
Statements

Account fees only. Payments, cards and capital account charges are extra.

Answer times are published too. Fibank reviews within ten days of receiving everything; Texim decides within three business days. Both clocks start when the file is complete, which is the part you control.

3
Key takeaway

Pay one review fee, at the bank most likely to say yes, with a file it cannot send back.

Chapter 4

Opening a Bulgarian business account from abroad

The law allows both routes. The Bulgarian National Bank's guidelines on remote onboarding, applying to banks since 2 October 2023, allow a video call with trained staff and automated checks. The anti-money laundering act asks for at least two verification methods when the client is not present.

At a distance

  • Video identification, where the bank offers it to you
  • A passport the system can read, with a machine readable zone
  • A second check, such as a first payment from your own account at an EU bank
  • A power of attorney signed before a notary abroad, which Fibank and Texim price at €15.34 and €10

In a branch

  • One visit to Sofia or another city, with your passport
  • Signatures on the account forms in front of staff
  • Settles identification in a single meeting
  • Can be combined with the founding signatures on the same trip

No bank tariff we read promises a full remote opening to a company owned from abroad, and online opening offers on the tariffs are aimed at existing or resident customers. We ask the bank which route it will take for your file before any fee is paid.

4
Key takeaway

Video and a notarised power of attorney are both legal; the bank picks which it accepts for you.

Chapter 5

The Bulgarian contact person banks will see on file

Banks identify a company's owners from the beneficial owner entry in the Commercial Register, plus documents (anti-money laundering act, article 59). Article 63 adds a rule for companies run from abroad: if nobody representing the company lives in Bulgaria, the entry names a contact person who does.

WhoYou, the ownerNamed in the owner entry, with your stake. Banks read it; the public no longer can.
WhoThe contact personLives in Bulgaria and can be reached by the authorities. Heirson provides one.
WhoThe managerCan be you, living anywhere. A local manager is optional.

For the bank, a contact person is a sign the company can be reached in Bulgaria. It does not replace you: the bank still identifies you as the owner and every signatory.

5
Key takeaway

A missing contact person is a registry gap the bank will find; we fill it at formation.

Chapter 6

Why a Bulgarian bank says no, and what it keeps

Article 17 of the anti-money laundering act is blunt: a bank that cannot complete its checks must refuse the relationship, "including the opening of an account", and end one already running. The tariffs show where banks see more risk by pricing it.

  • An owner outside the EEAFibank's review fee doubles to €200; Texim adds €41 a year of document monitoring.
  • A link to a low-tax territoryFibank charges €500 to review and €25 a month after; DSK €1,050 for an offshore parent.
  • A missing piece of the owner chainThe bank must reach every person with a controlling stake.
  • Activity the bank calls sensitiveFibank lists a €250 yearly review for sensitive areas.
  • Papers that need updatingDSK charges €36 per paper declaration it has to refresh.
  • Questions left openThe review clock only starts when the file is complete.

The cost of a refusal is the review fee: Fibank's tariff says it is "not subject to return", and Texim's that it is "not refundable in case of refusal". Applying to three banks at once triples it.

6
Key takeaway

A refusal costs a fee and weeks; one complete application avoids both.

Chapter 7

Payment and e-money accounts for a Bulgarian company

The Bulgarian National Bank keeps registers of 13 e-money institutions and 5 payment institutions licensed in Bulgaria, and firms licensed elsewhere in the EU can serve Bulgarian companies too. They fall under the same anti-money laundering act as banks.

A payment account gives the company an IBAN for invoices, cards and SEPA transfers, often opened online. Two limits matter in Bulgaria. We found no official text saying a payment firm's note counts as the bank note of paid-in capital, so the capital step stays with a bank. And the money is safeguarded, not covered by the deposit guarantee.

7
Key takeaway

Use a payment account to start invoicing; keep the capital step at a bank.

Chapter 8

Which Bulgarian deposits are guaranteed

The Bulgarian Deposit Insurance Fund guarantees up to €100,000 per depositor per bank, companies included, and starts paying within seven working days. Deposits of financial institutions are excluded. One detail matters when you choose:

Where the money sitsWho guarantees it
A bank licensed in BulgariaThe Bulgarian fund, up to €100,000. The BNB register lists 17 such banks.
A branch of a bank from another EU countryThat bank's home country scheme, not the Bulgarian fund, as the fund itself explains. Six foreign branches operate.
A payment or e-money institutionNo deposit guarantee. Client money is kept apart from the firm's own.
8
Key takeaway

The €100,000 is the same everywhere in the EU; who pays it depends on where the bank is licensed.

Chapter 9

How Heirson opens both accounts with you

Bank firstWe pick the bank with you for the operating account, for its review fee, its answer time and how it treats owners in your country.
CapitalWe open the capital account with that bank and get the note for the register file.
RegistrationSeat address, contact person and owner entry filed, so the bank finds nothing missing.
The reviewOne complete file in English and Bulgarian, sent once, with your video call or power of attorney arranged.
AfterBookkeeping in Bulgaria keeps statements and declarations current, so updates don't cost you fees.
IncludedBank setup is part of our €1,690 first year, with the register fee, address, contact person and twelve months of bookkeeping.

It almost always goes through, and if one bank declines we take the file to the next one that suits it. The bank's own review fee is paid to the bank. See everything included on our Bulgarian company page, the 10% and the dividend tax in the Bulgaria tax guide, and the yearly costs in Bulgaria annual fees.

9
Key takeaway

One bank, chosen first, used for both the capital and the company's daily account.

Chapter 10

Bulgarian company bank account questions

?
Can a non-resident open a bank account for a Bulgarian company?
Yes. Bulgarian banks publish review fees specifically for Bulgarian companies with a foreign owner, from €100 at Fibank to €420 at DSK. The bank identifies every owner and signatory and decides after its review.
Do I need a Bulgarian bank to register an EOOD?
The Registry Agency's guide lists a bank note of paid-in capital from a bank of your choice in the registration file. The minimum capital is one euro. We found no official text saying a payment institution can issue that note.
How much does a business bank account cost in Bulgaria?
On the banks' own tariffs: DSK charges €13.50 a month for a current account, Fibank €9.71 to €12.78 plus €10 a month for a foreign-owned single-member company, and Texim €10 a month. Review fees for a foreign owner are €420, €100 to €200 and €205.
Is the review fee refunded if the bank refuses?
Not at Fibank or Texim, whose tariffs say the fee is not returned on refusal. That is why we choose the bank with you before any fee is paid.
Can I open the account without travelling to Bulgaria?
The Bulgarian National Bank's guidelines allow video identification, and banks accept powers of attorney signed before a notary abroad. Each bank decides which it accepts for a foreign-owned company, so some owners make one short visit.
Are Bulgarian accounts in euro now?
Yes. Bulgaria joined the euro area on 1 January 2026, lev balances were converted at 1.95583 per euro, and the euro has been the only legal tender since 1 February 2026.
How much of a company's deposit is guaranteed in Bulgaria?
Up to €100,000 per depositor per bank, companies included, from the Bulgarian Deposit Insurance Fund at banks licensed in Bulgaria. Branches of other EU banks are covered by their home country's scheme instead.
Does Heirson open the Bulgarian bank account for me?
Yes. The capital account and the operating account setup are part of our €1,690 first year. We prepare the file and apply with you; the bank decides, and it almost always goes through.

Changelog

Your Bulgarian company

One bank chosen first, one review fee paid once.

Capital account, registration, contact person and the operating account prepared with you, in euro, from wherever you live.

See the Bulgarian company Bulgaria tax guide