ECB to decide soon on fate of 500-euro banknotes
Berlin, February 11
The European Central Bank (ECB) will take a decision soon on whether to keep printing 500-euro banknotes, with the arguments for doing so becoming ‘less and less convincing’, a top-ranking official said today.
“We’re actively considering the question and will take a decision shortly,” Benoit Coeure, executive board member, told the French daily Le Parisien in an interview, when asked about the future of the euro area’s largest denomination banknote.
Authorities increasingly suspected that the notes were being used for illicit purposes, ‘an argument we cannot ignore given the importance of fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism’, Coeure said.
Large denomination notes enable criminals to transport large sums of money in small volumes.
The EU Commission said earlier this month that it planned to consult with the ECB and other parties concerned to decide whether action needed to be taken regarding the 500-euro note.
“From my point of view, the arguments in favour of keeping it are less and less convincing,” Coeure said, but acknowledged that some people, ‘notably in Germany’ were concerned about the disappearance of payments in cash.