Not everyone has them and it is even less common to keep them in the wallet, but the truth is that the 500 euro bills exist and that, being the highest value, a certain aura of mystery surrounds them. In fact, it is getting more and more difficult to get them.
It is not a perception, quite the opposite: since 2019, and following the guidelines of the European Central Bank, the Bank of Spain stopped issuing the 500-euro bills. , when he announced it, the measure was carried out “taking into account the concern that banknotes of this denomination may facilitate the commission of illicit activities.”
This does not mean that the banknotes cannot be used, but rather that they are no longer produced by the issuing entities. Only those that were issued until 2019 are used: this ticket is still considered legal tender and a method of payment and a store of value (or what is the same: it is valid both to buy and to save).
Although these banknotes can no longer be issued, they can be recirculated, put back into circulation after having passed through authorized bodies that have carried out the relevant checks on their authenticity and their absence of links to criminal activities.
, only professional sectors will be able to recirculate the 500 euro banknotes. This includes entities such as banks, cash transfer companies or currency exchange offices, among others. All these centers can recirculate, but not issue, the 500 euro banknotes that are still in circulation.
The citizen who has 500 euro bills, in turn, can change them if they wish. He may do so at any time, and for this he must go to his central bank (in our country it is the Bank of Spain), which will be in charge of receiving it, verifying its legality and, if necessary, proceeding with its recirculation.
How many 500 euro bills are there in Spain
However, the downward trend of these banknotes is clear since the ban on their issuance. The latest provisional data from the Bank of Spain are very significant: the amount of 500-euro banknotes in circulation fell by 18.1% in just one year, going from 9,100 to 7,450 million euros.
In quantitative terms, the data is even clearer: there are currently 14.7 million 500-euro bills in Spain, which means the lowest number in 20 years. A reality that reflects not only the effects of the decision of the European Central Bank, but also the current context of the coronavirus pandemic in which cash payment is prioritized and the growing government measures against the shadow economy, linked to said cash payment. .
In this sense, we must not forget that in the anti-fraud law, approved in the summer of 2021, the Government (the previous limit was 2,500) provided that they included professionals and both for sales and purchases.
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