I know that the 500€ bill ceases to exist on the new series of bank notes (as they capped it at 200€) but those who possess the older series with that denomination can still use it as legal tender, but is it that common for Europeans to have a 200€ bill in their wallet? I’ve heard as to why they ceased on printing 500€ is mainly relating to both criminal activity or money laundering as that denomation has been abused as such.
200€ is the second highest one, although the older 500€ bill is no longer in circulation. Do ATM’s disperse either 500 & 200€ bills regarding cash withdrawals within that amount or do they just give that amount in smaller denominations equating to that much (like consisting of 20, 50 or 100€ bills)? If ATM’s don’t just give out a 200€ bill when withdrawing that much or more, does one have to visit a bank (branch) to get one?
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ATMs here (Netherlands) max out at €50 bills
max out at €50 bills
However, do banks stockpile 100, 200 or 500€ denominations?
And many shops don’t accept 200 or 500 euro notes at all
I have lived in Europe for 6 of the past 7 years, never seen a €200 bill, I have used €500 ones before when I moved here and wanted to bring some cash with me in case of issues with cards, but realistically who uses cash nowadays?
who uses cash nowadays
Cash exists for a reason such as in the case of power outages, most payment systems are down in that type of scenario, since those are reliant on electricity so cash is a back up.
Yes, but you can just not buy things for the amount of time it takes for the power to come back on. Even on a nation wide blackout card machines still work, don’t ask me how but I can definitely confirm this for sure since I was already living in Spain when the blackout happened and I went to the supermarket and got some things during the first hours. If a blackout goes on for long enough that I need to have money stashed there would be much bigger issues than that.
but realistically who uses cash nowadays?
Germans
I used to make fun of them not trusting digital money as much as the rest of the developed world, but I was wrong and they are right; Germany is one of the few places in Europe not totally dependent on Visa and Mastercard.
They’re very uncommon. I once got paid cash for fruit picking in France. It was the first and only time I carried 200 euro notes. No shop accepts them. ATMs give out 50 euro notes max.
No shop accepts them. ATMs give out 50 euro notes
Will electronic stores accept either 100 or 200€ bills when purchasing an iPhone for 1500€ upon paying in cash? Also, can you pay only with 200€ (x30) only in physical currency when purchasing a 8K TV that may be 6000€.
It’s illegal to buy anything in cash over 3000 euros
In which country? That sounds very strict. In Germany for instance you can buy anything you want with cash, you just have to show your ID and document the origin of the cash above 10.000€
I thought it was EU law but apparently it depends on the country. It’s 3000 in Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and other countries have other limits. But it’s not surprising this is not a thing in Germany, they really try to push for cash
Depending on the country. In Germany most used cars are bought with cash
No, you’d be denied and probably reported to the police. Way too high of a chance of the money being counterfeit or of a less than legal origin. Buying stuff with large amounts of cash has money laundering written all over it.
It’s actually a big problem. On the one hand, almost no one uses cash (especially large amounts) and shops won’t accept it. But on the other hand, we would like to protect the privacy of people and forcing them to pay electronically can be a detriment to that goal.
Buying stuff directly with large amounts of cash is a big red flag. Even carrying large amounts of cash is a red flag. If you get stopped by police or at a border check or something like that, you’d have to have a good reason and the proper documents to explain why you are doing that. When crossing a border, large amounts of cash do have to be declared.
Paying electronically is so easy these days and there are so many methods, except for the privacy angle there really is no reason to use cash.
Even carrying large amounts of cash
Can they seize (non-euro) money? For example: 20,000 Omani Rials (~45,105€)
Why exactly are you asking this? Are you planning something?
When you enter the EU with such a large amount of cash, you need to declare it at customs. You need the have the correct paperwork for having that money. If you don’t have the correct paperwork, you’d definitely be denied to cross the border. The money would be seized, but most likely you’d be able to get it back after filing the right paperwork afterwards.
Having that much cash on hand is a huge red flag for criminal activities, so it would generally be a good idea to avoid it.
Nothing of nefarious intent. Rather, having a currency of higher value to exchange.
It’s legal to buy things with cash. What would you be reported for? Of course if it’s fake cash, that’s illegal, but real cash is legal tender, and must be accepted, if it is reasonable. Buying 1.50 chewing gun with a 50eur bill? The shop does not need to accept it. Buying an item that costs 400eur using two 200eur bills? Perfectly reasonable.
Yeah it depends a lot on the situation and the sector as well. I think for stuff like car/motorcycle parts cash, even large amounts, are more common. Paying less than 1000 euro worth of stuff with the almost matching amount of cash would mostly be fine. Although 200 euro bills aren’t accepted everywhere and would definitely be thoroughly checked for counterfeit. But anything above 1000 euro would have eyebrows raised, especially if the person has multiple thousands on them in large bills.
They would be reported to the police for them to keep an eye out and/or do a check on where the money came from. It isn’t illegal on its own, but would warrant a check. In my experience many shops, especially in city centers, maintain good contact with the local police. And reporting such behavior is routine. They also report people acting weird in general, not because that in itself is illegal, but to point the police in the right direction.
Here in my place in Germany you can get up to 100€ bills from the ATMs. Some shops do not accept 200€ bills, more have no restrictions.
Since I moved to Germany I noticed people under 80 paying with cash again. The other day I was in the supermarket and the customer in front of me paid with a €500 bill. The cashier coolly accepted the bill of undoubtedly criminal origin and handed back €400 plus in change.
undoubtedly criminal origin
What makes you so convinced it is a bill of criminal origin? To my knowledge Germany is generally still a cash-nation, moreso than other European countries
What’s the alternative plausible explanation?
Old used cars etc. sold privatly are often done in cash. And then the person selling the car has to use that cash somehow as bringing it to the bank is usually a hassle or even impossible if the bank you use has closed nearly all in person shops.
Even the 100€ is not that common as most ATMs don’t distribute them and most commerce doesn’t like to get them either. The few times I had any of those notes I just deposited them immediately on my bank.
In Austria ATMs do not only have 100 EUR bills, if you are not careful it will also hand out anytime it can.
100€ is not that common
But, can you visit a bank enquiring if they stockpile that denomination? (Same with 200 or 500€ bills) Like, “can I withdraw 5000€ in cash from my account consisting of only 100 & 200€ bills?”
Usually yes. Depending on the country that might land you a police list though.
Depending on the country
Also depending on the amount. I’ve also heard something about the amount being registered but the amount itself not even being the thing that is most suspect: frequency of a similar amount is what actually is the biggest red flag (so once 20.000 would be less suspect as taking 4.000 5 days in a row or every 60 days or something like that).
Not really. Most cash payments are made with €50 bills and below. Nearly anything beyond that is done by debit card.
Worked in retail (Germany) for a while and I have seen a couple every day. 500€ bills were rare though. And our registers where technically not allowed to accept more then 999,99€ in cash.
One time a customer payed a pack of gums with a 500€ bill. It was legit, so started counting to give back the 499,11€. As I was about to start to count a second time to verify, she just grabbed the money and stormed out… it was odd, I was 70% sure that I didn’t count right the first time, looked outside but she was gone. When I had to count the money after my shift I had 100€ too much. My manager was as confused as I was and I have never heard anything of it again. Weird one.
