Here in Canada we stopped printing and withdrew our $1000 notes a few
years ago. The US did it much earlier. For stores to even provide change
for these types of notes is tough. Credit and debit cards are the choice
for large purchases and cashiers/bank cheques for the those that wish to
use them.

Christian Feldhaus wrote:
oly wrote:


Answer: There is no good reason except tax evasion or drugs.


Sure, the same darn rotten European governments that tighten money
laundering regulations over here also decide to issue such notes in
order to encourage tax evasion or to support drug trafficking. Makes a
lot of sense to me ...

As far as I am concerned, a ¤500 note is not necessary (see my previous
reply in this thread). But quite obviously there is some demand for it,
and elsewhere in Europe there are even higher value notes. People who
buy used cars over here, for example, often pay cash. Some people have
limited trust in banks and keep some or even most of their money at
home. And so on. There are lots of possible reasons for using high value
notes without being a criminal.

Christian