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Remittance and payout software for payment institutions licensed in Bulgaria

Bulgaria joined the euro area on 1 January 2026, so a Bulgarian PI now pays out in the same currency as its neighbours to the west and in a different one from Romania. Corridors, rates and the paper trail for each transfer decide whether that works. Those are the parts our platform runs.

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Case Studies

See what teams build with Crassula.

Money Transfer · Payment institution

Transfer services a Bulgarian PI can offer

Remittances to family abroad

A sender picks a recipient, sees the rate, the fee and the amount that will arrive, and pays. Euro destinations go over SEPA, other currencies over SWIFT through a connected provider.

Payouts for platforms and employers

Marketplaces and staffing firms send salaries or seller payouts as one file or one API call, released only after a second person approves it.

Corridors with their own pricing

Fees and FX spreads defined per currency pair and client group, so opening a lei or pound corridor is a matter of configuration.

Payment accounts for regular senders

Accounts with an IBAN used to execute transfers, where the balance is shown as money waiting to go out rather than savings.

Traceable returns

Every transfer carries its own status history, so a rejected payment goes back to the person who sent it, with the reason recorded.

What this licence does not cover

  • Stored balances customers keep for spending. That is e-money and needs an EMI licence from the BNB.
  • Interest on money held in payment accounts. The Bulgarian payments law rules it out for payment institutions.
  • Starting small under a registration. Bulgaria has no registered or small PI regime, so even a domestic remittance business needs the full licence.
Your market

What the regulator asks about your IT

Each requirement, what the platform gives you for it and who owns it after launch.

1Initial capital matched to the services: EUR 20,000, EUR 50,000 or EUR 125,000

A clear list of the payment services the platform performs for you, so your services list and capital tier line up.

You, with your lawyers
2Funds not paid out by the end of the next working day placed on a safeguarding account at a bank or central bank

Per-transfer records showing which funds are still in transit at each cut-off, ready to reconcile with the safeguarding account.

Your finance team
3Payee name check before a euro transfer is authorised

Payee name and IBAN passed to your verification service, with the result shown to the sender before confirmation.

You, with your rails provider
4Information on payer and payee travelling with each transfer

Sender identity and address taken at onboarding and attached to each outgoing payment.

Shared
5Audit by a registered audit firm that has already audited a public-interest entity

Transaction, fee and balance exports your auditor can test against the general ledger.

You, with your auditor
6Outsourcing and ICT third-party information for DORA

Service description, data locations, subcontractors and exit terms for your register of information.

You, with our input
7Corridor risk assessment under the Law on Measures against Money Laundering

Limits by corridor and client type, plus transfer data exports for your screening and monitoring tools.

Your AML officer
Bulgaria

Payment rails and providers

Rails your customers can use

SEPA Credit TransferSEPA InstantSWIFTInternal transfers
24/7real-time processing, no batch window
60+payment and provider integrations connected
150+companies run on Crassula
15+languages the platform speaks
Bulgaria

Dates to plan around

Rules that change what you have to build, in the order they apply.

  1. 5 Aug 2025

    Bulgaria's payments law stops exempting settlement finality systems from the open access rule. Payment systems may not turn a PI away because of its legal status.

  2. 1 Jan 2026

    The euro replaces the lev. The BNB closes its lev settlement system RINGS, capital tiers are set in euro and the PI review fee becomes EUR 4,000.

  3. 1 Jan 2027

    Bulgarian payment service providers, PIs included, must check the payee name before a euro transfer and charge no more for instant than for regular transfers.

  4. 9 Apr 2027

    Bulgarian PIs that offer euro transfers must send and receive them as instant payments.

  5. 10 Jul 2027

    The EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation applies, with one rulebook for customer due diligence.

  6. Around 2028

    PSD3 is expected to apply. Licensed Bulgarian PIs will have to show the BNB they meet the new rules.

Payment institution

Applying to the BNB for a payment institution licence? Put us in your file.

The BNB checks how each payment service works in practice, from the moment money arrives to the moment it leaves. A running transfer platform, described accurately in your technical sections, gives it fewer reasons to come back with questions.

Talk to us about your application

Crassula provides technology and documentation support. We do not provide legal or regulatory advice and cannot guarantee the outcome of an application.

  1. 01

    A platform you can demonstrate

    A configured environment to show the regulator, not slides.

  2. 02

    The technical part of your application, prepared

    Payment flows, IT security, ICT risk and DORA, outsourcing and continuity sections, ready for translation into Bulgarian.

  3. 03

    Providers lined up

    Banking, safeguarding and KYC providers from our network, matched to your licence.

A business traveller checking a phone before a journey.
Money Transfer

A Plovdiv payout business, step by step

Imagine a company that pays seasonal workers recruited in Bulgaria for farms and hotels in Germany, Spain and Greece. It applies to the BNB for money remittance and payment accounts, which puts it in the EUR 125,000 capital tier because payment accounts are included.

Since the euro arrived, most payouts are euro to euro and go over SEPA, with SEPA Instant as the default once the 2027 deadline nears. Payouts to workers' families in Romania and North Macedonia run over SWIFT through a connected provider, each corridor with its own price list.

Further reading: the Bulgaria EMI and PI guide and how payment institution licences work.

Guides

Read the licence guides

Explore all guidesLicensing, payments, cards and core banking, explained by our team.
Bulgaria · Payment institution

FAQ

The questions teams ask us before a first call.

Not covered here?Bring your question to a demo with our team.
How much capital does a Bulgarian PI need?
It depends on the services. Money remittance alone needs EUR 20,000. Payment initiation needs EUR 50,000, and the other services, such as payment accounts, transfers and card acquiring, need EUR 125,000. These amounts have been set in euro since 1 January 2026.
What is the BNB application fee?
EUR 4,000 for a payment institution licence, and EUR 2,500 to add services to an existing licence later. Both are set in BNB Ordinance No 16, which switched from lev amounts on 1 January 2026.
Can a payment institution reach Bulgarian payment systems without a bank?
The law now requires payment systems, including settlement finality systems, to set objective and non-discriminatory access rules and not to exclude a provider because of its legal status. Whether direct participation suits you, and how we connect to it, is something we scope together.
When do Bulgarian PIs have to offer instant euro payments?
The Instant Payments Regulation gives countries that adopt the euro one year to comply. For Bulgaria that means payee name checks and fair pricing of instant transfers by 1 January 2027. Sending and receiving instant payments is due by 9 April 2027, the same date as for other euro area PIs.
Which language does the BNB work in?
Bulgarian. Application documents are filed in Bulgarian, foreign documents need a Bulgarian translation, and the file is lodged on paper and on an electronic device.
Can we serve the rest of the EU from Bulgaria?
Yes. A licensed Bulgarian PI can passport its services across the EEA after notifying the BNB, using the same platform for every country it adds.
Money Transfer

Explore your launch market

Bulgaria · Payment institution

Transfer services a Bulgarian PI can offer

Tell us your licence and country. We will map the rails, providers and documents you need.

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Know what you payOne setup fee and a monthly plan with accounts and transactions included.See pricing → Start with the APIDocumented endpoints for accounts, payments, cards and customers.Explore the API →
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