The issue of banknotes with a face value of 500 euros was finally discontinued

On April 26, the banknote of 500 euros was finally terminated. On this day, the term was expired, released by the Central Bank of Germany and Austria, where these bills are most in circulation, to stop their issue. The remaining 17 countries of the eurozone stopped printing 500-European banknotes back in January.

Banknotes remain legal payment and will not be forcibly remove from the turnover.

The decision to stop issuing 500-European banknotes was made in 2016. The reason is that they were often used for illegal purposes, to launder money, giving bribes and even financing terrorism. So, a million cash in such banknotes weighs only 2 kilograms of 200 grams , while a million US dollars in 100-dollar banknotes are almost 6 times heavier.

The 500 -European banknote is one of the most valuable in the world. More in the current exchange rate, only banknotes of 1000 Swiss francs, as well as 10 thousand Brunei dollars, Bloomberg notes.