A new fifty euro note will begin to appear in our pockets as of 5th April, replacing the existing note, for reasons of security.
According to an announcement by the Central European Bank, in the second half of 2016 353,000 forged banknotes were withdrawn from the system. This was seen as a slight increase in comparison to the first half of 2016, but a 20,7% drop compared to the same period in 2015.
Although the banking authorities in all 19 participating countries always encourage strict inspection of the notes they have in their possession, forgeries will always exist.
The real banknotes can be recognised by the three check method – touch, sight and corner check that the Central Bank publishes on it’s website.
The fifty and twenty euro notes have constantly maintained the highest percentage of forgeries. Last year saw a fall in forgeries of the 20 euro notes and a reduction in 50 euro notes. These two denominations together, represent 80,3% of the total number of forgeries.
93,6% of all forged banknotes have been found and withdrawn from the bank system, within the countries belonging to the eurozone.