From 1 December Bulgarian banks check the payee's name on euro transfers: what it changes when you pay a deposit or the price of a property

On 2 November the Association of Banks in Bulgaria announced that from 1 December 2026 banks will begin phasing in a new service — Verification of Payee — on euro transfers. By 1 January 2027 every bank and payment institution in the country must offer it. In the countries that were in the euro area before Bulgaria, the service has been running since 9 October 2025.

It comes from the EU Instant Payments Regulation (EU) 2024/886. It is free, and it matters to anyone moving large sums — and in a property transaction almost everything goes by bank transfer.

What is checked

When you enter an IBAN and the payee's name, your bank asks the payee's bank whether the two match — before you confirm the transfer. The check covers both standard and instant credit transfers in euro, including transfers between accounts at the same bank, across every channel: mobile and online banking and at the branch counter, where the clerk tells you the result verbally.

There are four possible answers:

Result	What it means	What to do
Match	Name and IBAN correspond	You can proceed
Close match	The name is similar; the bank shows you the account holder's actual name	Compare it with the name in your contract
No match	The account belongs to someone else	Stop and check
Check not possible	Technical issue, closed or blocked account, or a bank not yet taking part	Confirm the account another way

The decision stays with you — and so does the risk

The bank cannot block the transfer. The Regulation states expressly that the check must not prevent the payer from authorising the payment. But if you go ahead after "no match" or "check not possible" without correcting the details, the bank is not liable if the money reaches the wrong person.

The reverse is covered too: if your bank failed to provide the check and the transfer was executed incorrectly, it has to refund you.

Banks warn that pressure to "just ignore the warning" is itself a sign of fraud.

Why this matters in a property deal

Property payments are large, one-off and hard to recover. They also have to go by bank transfer by law: Bulgaria's Act on Limiting Cash Payments requires a transfer for any payment of 10,000 leva or more — €5,112.92 at the fixed conversion rate — including where several smaller amounts are paid on the same basis.

The typical fraud around such payments is not sophisticated: an email or message "from the seller", "from the agency" or "from the developer" with a new bank account at the last minute. Until now the only defence was vigilance. From December, if you enter the real seller's name and the IBAN has been swapped, you will see "no match" before the money leaves your account.

Where you will meet it:

• The deposit under a preliminary contract — usually the first large sum, often sent days after the viewing. More on deposits in our guide to deposits and preliminary contracts.
• The price at completion — to the seller's account or to the notary's special account. How the notary account works and how a seller's mortgage is paid off is covered in our guide to selling a property with a mortgage still on it.
• Instalments to a developer on an off-plan purchase — for a company, enter the exact official name from the Commercial Register, not the project's brand name.
• Deposit and first month's rent — for a tenant paying a landlord they have never met.

What the check does not do

It is important not to overestimate it.

• It confirms that the account belongs to the person whose name you entered. It does not confirm that this person owns the property or has the right to sell it. That is checked in the Property Register and the cadastre, not at the bank.
• If a fraudster has given you their own name and their own account, the result will be "match". So the name you enter must come from the title documents and the contract — not from the same message that carried the IBAN.
• With spouses, heirs and co-owners, agree in the contract whose account receives the money and in what shares. For joint accounts, the bank confirms whether the person you named is among the holders.

Paying safely — five rules

1. The account goes into the preliminary contract or the notarial deed, not into a later email.
2. Any change of account is confirmed by phone on a number you already have from earlier contact — not the number in the new message.
3. Enter the name exactly as it appears on the ID card or in the Commercial Register. On a "close match", compare the name shown with the contract before you continue.
4. For a large sum, send a small test transfer first and ask the payee to confirm it.
5. Check your limits in advance. Instant transfers carry a per-transaction limit that differs from bank to bank — clarify it with your bank a few days before completion, not at the notary's desk.

In short

• From 1 December 2026 Bulgarian banks introduce a payee-name check on euro transfers; from 1 January 2027 it is mandatory for all providers.
• It is free and works online, in the mobile app and at the counter.
• The bank will not stop the transfer — but if you proceed after "no match", the risk is yours.
• The check catches a swapped IBAN; it does not replace checking who owns the property.

When you work with us, the accounts and the payment route are fixed in writing in the preliminary contract and confirmed in person before a single euro moves. If you are about to pay a deposit or the price of a property and want to go through the payments together, call us or come into the office.

Verified 10 November 2026 against the Association of Banks in Bulgaria announcement and the text of Regulation (EU) 2024/886. Exact screens and messages depend on the bank. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.