The 500 euro note has often been the subject of jokes and platitudes about how difficult it is to come across one of them in everyday life. These jokes, which almost always refer to an association between this ticket and a certain economic status, have a real basis. Because it is really becoming more difficult to access a 500 euro bill.
The reason is that it is a strategy marked by the European Central Bank (ECB), which prohibited the issuance of these banknotes since 2019, so that none of the central banks of the countries of the European Union could not issue 500 banknotes. euros.
The ECB wielded at the time of the announcement of the decision (it was in 2016, that is, three years before the measure to communicate it with some time) that this ban was intended to address “the concern that banknotes of this denomination may facilitate the commission of illicit activities”, given that it is associated with money laundering, the underground economy, the financing of terrorism…
The ECB’s ban did not mean the end of the 500 banknotes, the agency reported that they were still legal and, therefore, could be used as a means of payment and as a store of value (savings). And, of course, they have also maintained their value throughout these years.
As no more 500-euro bills are produced, the pertinent question that citizens can ask themselves is the following: Is there an establishment where these bills can be obtained or can they only be obtained if they are the result of an exchange?
The answer lies with the Bank of Spain, which explains that the 500-euro bills are still recirculated, although after a series of checks that aim to guarantee their safe and legal origin. Recirculation, ie emission after verification, can only be done by certain professional sectors. They are the following:
-Banks.
-Money transport companies.
-Exchange offices and the like.
Why are the 500 euro bills going down?
The effects of the measure have been noted after the passage of the first years with the current ban on issuing 500-euro bills. The current data () is relevant: the amount of 500 euro bills fell by 19.1% in one year and the number of bills was close to reaching the historical minimum of 20 years ago, with the entry of the euro (13.9 million compared to 12.7 on that date).
It is not just the prohibition of the issuance of these banknotes, the recent context has not favored, precisely, that the 500 euro banknotes remain at levels of amount and number. In Spain, the anti-fraud law approved a year ago dealt a heavy blow to the circulation of banknotes after the activities in which professionals were involved.
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