ATM’s in Britain do not withdraw that denomination (they max out at £20), unless for some reason an individual wants a £50 note: they would have to visit a bank requesting for that (banks stockpile bills of all denominations). However, there is a stigma with a £50 note (money laundering, drugs, etc.) as often depicted in news stories about criminals caught with “dirty money” often have £50.
Even if you were to spend it at a store: they are like “sorry, I have to get my manager” to verify it’s authenticity, due to concerns of counterfeit despite the new bank note series being printed from polymer. I’ve heard that is often reserved for business related or larger transactions at certain stores (electronics, luxury brands) where they may be inclined to accept £50 in multiple quantities.
Sounds similar to the 200 euro note. Though I did once manage to withdraw one from an ATM, and it was accepted at a grocery store without problems.
Hm, I wanted to respond it seems more like the 500€ note, but it appears to not be produced anymore since 2019.
Those noone really wanted to have to deal with.
The 200 € note is the rarest one. When buying a car, I’ve actually used 500 € notes a few times. I’ve seen a 200 € note only once or twice. Can’t even remember when was the last time.
At the Vienna main railway station (Wien Hbf) there is or was an ATM, operated by Erste Bank, where you can choose to get 200 euro notes.
Wow. Never seen one of those.
Austria likes their cash; I’ve had salaries paid out in 500 and 200 bills
Oh, it’s a country specific thing then. In the past few decades, I’ve used electronic money more than physical money. Applies to salaries, cars, shopping etc. Works with small merchants too.
I’ve been seeing many people paying groceries with 100€ and 200€ notes lately
Barely used doesn’t mean useless
They’re not for regular people making regular transactions, it’s kinda intended for high value transactions
Wealthy people selling things (semi-)privately to each other is one obvious one, things like those £50k watches. Sometimes these wealthy people want to do their spending with utmost discretion, so cash is king.
Another is pawnbrokers, private currency exchanges and similar kinds of business that just have to deal with a lot more cash than is typical.
Don’t get me wrong, its usage will definitely be in decline, but I don’t see them taking it out of rotation any sooner than the fiver
I swear we recently had this same question, with the same argument and even similar phrasing, for $50 (USD) bills. What’s up with that?
Bots. Bots as far as the eye can see.
I think there’s a lot more LLMs/AI agents posting than you think. Not saying OP is one, but I am noting “a lot” (subjective) of accounts somehow only posting questions like this and only commenting in their own threads. No other activity. I can tag them in my app, easier to keep track of weird behaviours like that.
Yep! It’s all financial type questions too🤔
Money laundering. Not even joking. Large denominations of cash is one of the more important ways of transferring value across borders for laundering purposes, which is why the largest number of bills in the most significant international currencies (USD and EUR, primarily) are in denominations mich larger than their day to day use value should suggest.
I ask the same thing about the $100 note here. why? I don’t believe I’ve ever had a $100 note. it’s not stocked in tills at shops, i don’t even know if I have ever seen one in person. WHY?
