2019-01-21 Mon

It was officially announced that Bank of Spain will stop producing any more €500 banknotes from 27th January. The decision has been taken by the central bank as there have been reports that these high denomination notes are being used for carrying out illegal and corrupt activities. There’s a fear that these notes are being used for funding terrorism as well. The monetary authority of the eurozone, Eurosystem, had taken a similar step in May 2016.

However, Bank of Spain officials have also clarified that the €500 banknotes that are currently in circulation will continue to be legal tender for an indefinite period of time. This means that these banknotes can be used for making payments or other financial transactions. Banks, fund transport companies, currency exchange and other financial institutions can re-circulate these banknotes. People can also exchange these banknotes at national central banks from the Euro Zone.

It has been officially reported that 31 million €500 notes were in circulation in November 2018.

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