500 euro bills: these are the only places that can offer them

If you do a brief review in your head, could you tell how many times you have had a 500 euro note in your wallet? Probably few. Not only because it is not the usual thing, but also because it is increasingly difficult to see them.

The reason is that these 500 euro banknotes that have provoked so many fantasies in citizens have no longer been issued. Only tickets that were issued before 2019 circulate: From that year on, the Bank of Spain stopped issuing the 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 bills disappear. At the time of the announcement of the cessation of the issuance of 500 euro notes, the Bank of Spain already reported that these were still legal tender and that, therefore, they can be circulated and 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 this, and always after having carried out the appropriate checks to guarantee the legality of said banknotes.

According to the Bank of Spain, only the 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 the banks, money transfer companies or money 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 others of lesser value, they will be able to do so without fear. that these aforementioned entities can receive them.

Fence to 500 euro banknotes

In recent months the Government has paid particular attention to cash-related operations. In fact, in summer the new cash payment limit for professionals was approved (which has dropped from 2,500 to 1,000 euros in operations with national persons).

Due to the link with the black economy, these operations receive greater attention from Hacienda, that always have knowledge (by banks) of all movements that include 500 euro banknotes. The objective of this continuous channel of information is to be able to carry out the pertinent verifications and guarantee that there are no indications of crime.