If you take a quick look at your head, would you be able to tell how many times you’ve had a 500 euro bill in your wallet? Probably few. Not only because it is not usual, but also because it is increasingly difficult to see them.
The reason is that these 500-euro bills that have caused so many fantasies in citizens have stopped being issued. Only banknotes that were issued before 2019 circulate: as of that year, the Bank of Spain stopped issuing 500-euro banknotes, executing a recommendation from the European Central Bank, which justified it in the frequent relationship of these banknotes with criminal activities such as fraud or money laundering.
This means that the banknotes disappear. At the time of the announcement of the cessation of the issuance of 500 euro banknotes, the Bank of Spain already reported that these were still legal tender and that, therefore, they can circulate and be used to save and pay (“as a means of payment and store of value”).
However, although the tickets can be used, not all establishments can offer them to their customers. Only a few centers can do it, and always after having carried out the appropriate checks to guarantee the legality of said tickets.
, only professional sectors have the right to recirculate the 500 euro banknotes, that is, to give them to customers if they request it. These assumptions include banks, cash transfer companies or currency exchange offices.
All the banknotes that these establishments recirculate do not lose their value (in fact, the Bank of Spain insists that they will keep it “indefinitely”) and in the event that the citizen wishes to exchange them for other smaller amounts, they will be able to do so without fear, since that these aforementioned entities can receive them.
Fence around the 500 euro banknotes
In recent months the Government has paid special attention to operations related to cash. In fact, in the summer the one for professionals was approved (which has dropped from 2,500 to 1,000 euros in operations with nationals).
Due to the link with the submerged economy, these operations receive greater attention from the Treasury, which is always aware (by the banking entities) of all the movements that include 500-euro bills. The objective of this continuous channel of information is to be able to carry out the pertinent checks and guarantee that there are no signs of a crime.
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