site.btaParliament Adopts on First Reading Amendments to Payment Services and Payment Systems Act Related to Bulgaria's Euro Adoption

Parliament adopted Wednesday at first reading a bill to amend the Payment Services and Payment Systems Act, submitted by the Council of Ministers, with 122 votes in favour and 39 against. These amendments adapt the national legal framework governing payment supervision and the provision of payment services for the period following Bulgaria's accession to the euro area.

The amendments were supported by the parliamentary groups GERB-UDF, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria, Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning, BSP - United Left, Democracy, Rights and Freedoms and There Is Such a People. Vazrazhdane, Morality, Unity, Honour and Velichie voted against.

In order to prepare payment services and payment systems for the forthcoming introduction of the euro currency in Bulgaria, technical amendments to a number of legal texts are envisaged. These provisions introduce norms from European Union (EU) legal acts which contain monetary values and therefore the value in leva should be replaced by the value in euro.

The amendments comply with the rules of the Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer System (TARGET) and ensure the effective implementation by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) of the Eurosystem framework for the supervision of electronic payment instruments, schemes and arrangements.