Can I just use Wise or Revolut as my main account while living in Bulgaria?

For daily life, yes — the euro changeover made Bulgaria a seamless SEPA country, and a Wise or Revolut euro account handles rent, utilities, salary and card spending without friction. Legally you are on firm ground too: under EU rules, IBAN discrimination is prohibited — a Bulgarian employer, landlord or utility cannot lawfully refuse a payment or direct debit just because your IBAN starts with BE or LT rather than BG. Even the tax authority is fine: NRA payments are ordinary SEPA credit transfers to their published accounts with your identifier in the reference, and they accept them from any EU account. Reality check on three fronts, though. First, IBAN discrimination still happens informally — an occasional utility clerk or small landlord balks at a foreign IBAN, and while you would win the argument, you may not want the argument. Revolut has been rolling out local Bulgarian IBANs for Bulgaria-based customers, which dissolves this — check what your account shows after you update your address. Second, immigration paperwork: if you ever apply for a residence permit route that requires proof of funds, Migration and the consulates traditionally want statements from a Bulgarian bank; fintech statements are hit-and-miss there. Third, protection differs: Revolut Bank is a licensed EU bank with 100,000 euro deposit insurance, while Wise safeguards rather than insures. The pragmatic setup most expats converge on: keep Wise/Revolut as your operating accounts, and open one basic Bulgarian bank account as your official anchor — for permit paperwork and the rare BG-IBAN insister. Costs a few euro a month and removes every edge case. How to open one: /guides/opening-bank-account-bulgaria.