ATM’s in the Netherlands cap at 50€ (so any higher denomination must be requested at the bank), due to people using contactless payments frequently there’s less incentive for cash. Even then, why did the EU decide to print 100€ or 200€ notes (forget about a 500€ note as they’ve stopped printing more since 2019 but it is still legal tender). Stores refuse to accept a 200€ note for a 150€ purchase, why do these denominations exist?
Because other countries handle that differently than the Netherlands?
e.g. In Austria a not insignificant part of people exclusively do transactions in cash (think of that what you will). There even was a push to anchor cash payment is the constitution, so removing 100/200€ notes is not even on the table
Same in Germany. Lots of people avoid digital transactions and almost exclusively pay in cash. It’s always weird for me to see huge lines at the cashier while the self checkout is completely empty.
In Switzerland we have self checkouts that take cash.
Your self checkout doesn’t take cash?
Business transactions. Think of small business that deal with cash, or paying contractors, etc.
There’s many reasons larger bills still exist, even just larger cash transactions like buying a second hand car gives a reason for larger bills to continue to exist.
It is an infringement of liberty to restrict use of cash amongst the working population.
Even if you don’t personally use them for day-to-day transactions, there is still a need for large denominations for large transactions. Appliances, cars, etc, anything you might be buying private party from Facebook marketplace/for sale ads that will cost a lot and carrying a high quantity of lower denominations would be impractical.
Because the Netherlands is a nanny state. I’m so happy I’ve left many years ago. I get so depressed when I have to go back for family visits. Can’t take money out from your own bank account because you are a criminal, can’t get housing because of stikstof, can’t build anything because of stikstof, people need to go electric but the infrastructure is broken so can’t get like a heat pump or EV charger for x number of years. The country is well broken. And if anyone tries to get something done, it will end up in court which just drags on and on.
My Dutch friends here have a saying now: In Holland mag je niets en kan je niets.
I only saw a €500 note once. Still remember it to this day.
Shoutout grandma, shoutout old people for still having crazy amounts of cashDue to a paperwork error and problem with VAT (long story), I ended up being owed something like €505 from a motorcycle dealership not even in the EU. They gave me a €500 and a €5 to settle everything. It was like being given a little purple gold bar. I was terrified of losing it somehow, and then just wanted to run to the bank as fast as I possibly could to get rid of it.
They are mostly used by money laundering and tax evasion transactions.
I exclusively use stacks of 35€ notes for those ends.
Have you heard about drugs?
