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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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.
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€.
Depending on the country. In Germany most used cars are bought with cash
Will electronic stores accept either 100 or 200€ bills when purchasing an iPhone for 1500€ upon paying in cash?
Having worked in one - yes, it’s no problem at all. If it’s too much (I think 3k was the threshold), a manager has to come and do a second run in the counterfeit detection machine, so it might take a while.
(Answering for Germany though, might be different in France)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
I didn’t know such laws existed. Apparently in Bulgaria it has been active since 2011 and currently the limit is 5112,92 €, which is the equivalent of 10000 leva
I work in a small store, we get about one to two customers a day paying with it.
When I worked in an electronics store, we had much more of them, but it was obviously still the lowest amount of all bills.So I wouldn’t say they’re uncommon, but of course they’re the rarest one to get. Not only because ATMs don’t have them, but also because people rarely withdraw 200+€ on a regular basis in the first place.
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?
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?
but realistically who uses cash nowadays?
Germans
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.
Not really. Most cash payments are made with €50 bills and below. Nearly anything beyond that is done by debit card.