Tuesday, May 10, 2016
The European Central Bank has officially decided to discontinue producing the 500 euro banknote on May 4, announced in a recent press release.
This decision came in the wake of public opinion claiming that these higher denomination bills are being used to support terrorism and money laundering.
Europe's getting rid of the 500-euro bill, the "Bin Laden" bank note that criminals love https://t.co/iaJJgKrPkc
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 8, 2016
"The €500 note is also more compact and convenient for evading the gaze of authorities. The equivalent of $1 million, in that high euro note, weighs about five pounds and fits in a small bag, which was discovered in a Harvard University study this year," according to the New York Times.
The bank will put an official end to issuing the 500 euro banknote at the end of 2018. It can still be used as a form of payment, and can still be exchanged at the national central banks of the Eurosystem.
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