Too Much Privacy: Finnish Police Want Big Euro Notes Taken Out of Circulation

jones_supa writes The Finnish Police are concerned that larger banknotes, namely the €200 and €500 banknotes, encourage criminal activity and should therefore be removed from Finnish cash circulation. Markku Ranta-aho, head of the Money Laundering Clearing House of Finland, says criminals prefer cash because it is harder for police to track. In contrast, a record of electronic money transfers remains in the banking system, which makes the police's job considerably easier. Ranta-aho also says citizens rarely use the larger banknotes anyway, with which The Bank of Finland's advisor Kari Takala agrees. However, The Bank of Finland is skeptical about the ability of a ban on €500 banknotes to eliminate underground labor and trade in Finland. Takala suggests criminals would just switch to smaller bills. More illegal transactions take place via bank transfers, he says.

Comments

USA 1969

[musterion]

And just why do think the Federal reserve retired anything abouve $100 on July 14, 1969?

Re:USA 1969

[bill_mcgonigle]

Only if you believe BLS numbers. Their latest "basket" offsets the inflationary impact of wheat doubling and heating fuel and beef quadrupling by counting in the rapid fall in prices of flat-screen TV's.

That's not how inflation was measured in 1969, but it's better for the politicians this way.

Re:To their defense

[Sique]

I use the 100 EUR bill all the time. My average weekend shopping tops 100 EUR easily (we are a family of four), and then paying with the 100 EUR bill and additional cash just makes sense. And yes, I prefer paying cash. Maybe you are the exception?