17 of the 19 national central banks in the euro area will stop issuing the banknote €500 from 27 January 2019. For logistical reasons, the Federal Reserve Bank of Germany and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank have an additional deadline of 26 April 2019.
The cuts in €500 in circulation will retain their value and continue to be legal tender, so you can always use them as a means of payment and also exchange them at any time in the national central banks of the euro area.
The European Central Bank decided in May 2016 to stop producing these large notes, which are suspected of facilitating illegal activities. In practice, the last banknotes were manufactured in 2014 and since then demand has been covered by banknotes in circulation and in stock.
FYI
There are two series of banknotes:
The first, which entered into force in 2002, comprises seven values: €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500.
It is gradually replaced by the series
Europe
(2 of the security features include a portrait ofEurope, a figure of Greek mythology, from a vase in the Louvre Museum in Paris), which has 6 names. It will be completed with the issuance of new tickets on May 28, 2019. €100 and €200. This series will therefore not include a break in €500. The banknotes in this new series have been introduced gradually for several years. First denominations (€5, €10, €20 and €50) entered into circulation in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 respectively. This series has improved security features that protect them from counterfeiting. They have a longer lifespan, so they need to be replaced less frequently, reducing costs and environmental impact.
The first series will continue to be issued concurrently with the series
Europe
until stocks are exhausted. They will then be gradually withdrawn from circulation. However, these notes will retain their value. They can be exchanged over the counter at the national central banks of the euro area without any time limit.
