After having successfully coordinated over seven years the activities of banks in Bulgaria on individual’s current account switching, the ABB terminated this activity because the process is already regulated by the European Payment Accounts Directive (PAD). This Directive was introduced in the Bulgarian legislation with the adoption of recent amendments in the Law on Payment Services and Payment Systems and Ordinance № 3 of BNB on the terms and conditions for the execution of payment transactions and the use of payment instruments. The provisions of the law come into force as of 18 September 2016.
More information about the new framework of relations between banks and their clients in the process of payment account switching can be found in the State Gazette, number 59, 29.07.2016, Law amending the Law on Payment Services and Payment Systems, Title III, Switching of payment account (here).
Until now, the relations between the banks in Bulgaria concerning the account switching of individuals were settled by an agreement signed in 2009. It was prepared by the ABB on the basis of common standards for the role of banks in supporting the current account switching at the national level made by the European Banking Industry Committee (EBIC) and so called “Basic Principles for the Switching of Bank Accounts.”
As a coordinator of the preparation and implementation of the agreement, the ABB has partnered successfully with the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) and the Commission for Consumer Protection (CCP) with a view to maximizing the adherence to the described principles adopted by the European Commission.
