Cost of living in Bulgaria in 2022

@cyberescue1 I haven't heard of that. I use Torfx to transfer my money. They dont charge commission and I've tried a couple of others over the years and these have the best rates and they're really quick and efficient.
-@grumpyoldbird

Of course, they charge a commission fee, they all do. That's how they make money it's just they don't show it.

@grumpyoldbird Wise is one of, what they call, Challenger Banks.  There is also others Revolut, Starling and a few others.

Wise, used to be called TransferWise, but they renamed it.

Wise is essentially an app only (on your phone or tablet) bank account.  It allows you to hold up to 50 sub accounts in different currencies, all accessible under one account number.  It was very easy to start and, so far, has never let me down.  You are sent a debit card, that you can use in most ATMs and pay for anything in shops, restaurants etc., and pay for online stuff.  You can also transfer funds to others and receive funds.  It's incredibly fast.  When I transfer my pension from my UK account to Wise, it takes no longer than 60 seconds, often instantly!

The conversion rates are true rates, so you get an excellent rate of exchange. They make a small charge for conversions.  They have been very transparent and what I like, is that you can speak to them on the phone, if you need help with anything.  The app is available in Google Play (not sure about Apple, but probably available).

@SimCityAT of course they do, but their rate is still better than others.

@grumpyoldbird

Torfx may not charge comission, but then their exchange rate is generally lower than what the banks offer, whereas Wise offers mid-market exchange and for low value transfers they're hard to beat. Their commission rate is low and for sending small amounts, I think it'd be hard to beat them.

Here's a comparison link

https://transumo.com/wise-vs-torfx/

Since I don't need anything or miss anything from the UK my family sends me money (rather than parcels) using Wise and the charges are literally pence.

I can also recommend Wise. I'm very happy with it. The fees are higher than some, but lately they've been doing monthly partial refunds on their fees. Having a Visa Debit card with a BGN balance has worked well. No fees for using the card for payments, only for moving money between currencies or withdrawals at an ATM of more than £400 per month. The almost instant transfers are great for making direct bank transfer payments, and for some currencies there's no charge for that.

But it sounds as if you've found something that works well for you.

Like @cyberescue1 and @janemulberry I am a big Wise fan, and I've used it for many years. Currency transfers using Wise are very low cost (small commission, good exchange rate), and fast. It also has a good website to manage multiple currency accounts and transfers, and a debit card for international use.

I think Starling, Monzo and N26 are "challenger banks" or "ebanks", while Revolut and Wise are "emoney" entities. The former have banking licenses and your money is covered by the standard deposit protection scheme. The latter have a registration as an EMI ("Electronic Money Institution") with an "Emoney License". As part of these regulations they must maintain their own separate deposit insurance policies. I opened accounts with Starling, Monzo, Revolut and WIse just to try them out. Starling and Monzo are great alternatives to having a traditional UK bank account. Revolut and Wise are more international.