Draghi Denies ECB Waging War on Cash With Big Banknote Review

  • Any decision to withdraw 500-euro note will be to fight crime
  • Savers could still hoard the 200-euro banknote instead
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Mario Draghi insisted the European Central Bank would only withdraw its highest-denomination banknote to combat crime, not to curb the use of paper money.

“The 500-euro note and this objective of limiting cash have nothing to do” with each other, the ECB president told European Union lawmakers in Brussels on Monday. “There is a pervasive and increasing conviction in world public opinion that high-denomination bank notes are used for criminal purposes.”