site.btaRising Number of Debtors Under Age of 30, Bulgarians Paying Their Debts More Conscientiously

The age limit of people with overdue debts in Bulgaria is getting lower and lower, with the majority of them being people under 30 years of age, and often citizens under 25 years of age, according to data from the Receivables Management Association (RMA), presented by the association's Chairperson Liliya Dimitrova at an event held Tuesday in Sofia. Overall, the RMA data show that Bulgarians are paying their debts more and more conscientiously.

In the first half of 2025, there was a 38% increase in payment compared to the same period last year.

Another characteristic of the debtor profile is changing, as the debtor is no longer from a small regional town, but from large cities such as Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas, due to migration to larger settlements.

The average amount of consumer loans sold for the whole year 2024 amounted to BGN 909, decreasing compared to the previous year 2023, when the average amount reached BGN 1324.

According to the RMA data, the reason for the decrease in the average amount of non-performing loans lies in the fact that it is mainly consumer unsecured loans that fall into arrears, which have a small amount due.

Banks and non-bank financial institutions providing so-called quick loans each account for 35% of the total volume of debt sold, or 70% in total. Telecoms occupy third position with a share of 18%.

Redeemed debt remained unchanged in 2024 at BGN 545 million compared to BGN 523 million in 2023. Assigned debt in 2024 decreased by 46% year-on-year.

In Dimitrova's words, Bulgarian businesses are increasingly able to defend their rights and maintain a base of necessary documents to prove the sale of goods or the supply of services. As a result of this better awareness, Bulgarian businesses are increasingly turning to debt management companies, leading to a rise in arrears in the intercompany debt market, which are rising sharply to BGN 122 million in 2024 from just BGN 15 million in the previous year 2023.

Dimitrova does not expect trends in the country's receivables management market to change due to eurozone membership.