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?
I only saw a €500 note once. Still remember it to this day.
Shoutout grandma, shoutout old people for still having crazy amounts of cash
Due 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.