site.btaNational Postal Operator Receives Additional EUR 25 Mln from Government for Currency Exchange Service

The outgoing cabinet provided an additional EUR 25 million to Bulgarian Posts in the form of an operating loan, the government press service reported on Wednesday, covering the Council of Ministers weekly meeting. The money is intended to finance the exchange of Bulgarian leva to euro currency at post offices, a service provided by the national postal operator in smaller settlements where there are no banks. The outlay is expected to meet the significant demand for euro cash at these locations following Bulgaria's accession to the euro area on January 1.

During the year's first business week alone (January 5-11), approximately BGN 30 million were exchanged through the Bulgarian Posts network, and requests for nearly BGN 26 million more were received. Calculations based on requests ranging from BGN 1,000 to BGN 10,000 indicate that a second additional financing for working capital will be necessary to ensure the uninterrupted provision of the service.

The loan provided to Bulgarian Posts is to be repaid to the budget of the Ministry of Transport and Communications by September 30.