Mixed emotions in Germany as €500 note bows out

As the European Central Bank (ECB) takes the final step in phasing out the €500 note, few are expected to mourn a bill favoured by criminals but rarely seen in daily life. Except perhaps in cash-loving Germany.

From Sunday, central banks in 17 of the 19 eurozone countries will stop issuing the violet-coloured banknotes. Only the German and Austrian central banks are clinging on a while longer, until April 26, to “ensure a smooth transition,” the European Central Bank said in a statement.

Medical technician Rolf, from the German town of Marburg, said he found the demise of the single currency’s highest-denomination note “hard to accept.” Standing a stone’s throw from Frankfurt’s blue-and-yellow euro sculpture after a meeting in the city, the 61-year-old said he had made a point of paying for his car in €500s.