Bulgaria closed the chapter on the lev (BGN) by joining the eurozone in January 2026, and its currency conversion has become the occasion for an overall realignment of payment infrastructure around the euro. With card and digital wallet use rising and e-commerce in a growth phase, the friction-reduction effect of a wallet like Apple Pay—which lets consumers complete a purchase with just Face ID or Touch ID authentication, without re-entering card details—is especially significant for consumers still unfamiliar with amounts in the new currency.

Bulgaria's share of iPhone users is lower than in Western Europe, but it tends to be concentrated among urban consumers with purchasing power, making it a higher priority for fashion, digital content, and travel booking businesses targeting young people in major cities like Sofia. The improvement in completion rate from one-touch payment is especially pronounced for lower- to mid-priced single purchases, which tend to have high checkout drop-off rates.

At checkout, when a consumer approves via Face ID, Touch ID, or a device passcode, tokenized card information is transmitted instead of the actual card number. This biometric authentication satisfies PSD2's Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirement, so the transaction completes without an additional authentication step. Hecto Financial receives and converts the amount approved in euros (EUR), then settles it to the merchant in Korea in the currency chosen at contract—USD, KRW, or JPY.

As a Korea-registered entity, you can consider accepting Apple Pay in Bulgaria through a single integration with Hecto Financial. However, support availability and settlement cycle, fees, and currency options vary depending on the merchant's industry and transaction size, so confirmation with the Hecto Financial sales team is needed before signing a contract.

• Country of business registration

  Confirm contract eligibility for businesses registered in Korea

• Sales channels

  Integration method and priority vary depending on your online sales channel mix—own store, open marketplace, mobile app, etc.

• Product categories

  Check in advance whether your products fall under categories restricted by Apple Pay's merchant policy

• EU regulatory compliance

  Confirm compliance with EU payment regulations such as PSD2 and SEPA (see official sources below)

Settlement starts from the euro. Hecto Financial receives the Bulgarian customer's Apple Pay payment in EUR, converts it, and pays it out to the merchant in Korea in the currency specified at contract—USD, KRW, or JPY. The settlement cycle and fee rate follow contract terms. For refunds, funds are returned to the same tokenized card used in the original transaction, and it's advisable to have a process ready in advance for the 14-day withdrawal right that applies to distance sales within the EU.

• Bulgarian National Bank (Българска народна банка, BNB)Official information on Bulgaria's payment system and regulations related to the 2026 euro conversion. If this page's content differs from actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.