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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.
If you ban cash, the four bogeymen (need I mention them?) and the wobbly anarchist menace will create their own cash.
Oops, it's been already done, not once but a dozen times.
Not only in Finland! I've heard that in the United States aswell the police is very proactive about taking notes out of circulation.
As a normal person I never had use of large bills like that. Even 100 is an annoyance as you have to get it accepted for change somewhere. So in essence nothing of value would be lost. Then the claim that it would be effective at curbing illegal business is not very strong either.
I remember when the Euro was first rolled out. Finland did't bother minting 1c and 2c coins, 5c was the minimum. I think they just don't see the point in the big notes, not just that there only use is crime but probably Finns just don't use them at all. I would say they are the most progressive Europeans.
When you start banning things just to make the job of police easier, you know that your government has at least a few problems with freedom. If freedom means that police have a harder job, then so be it.
In contrast, a record of electronic money transfers remains in the banking system, which makes the police's job considerably easier.
Yes because our lives should be dedicated to making the police's job considerably easier. Welcome to the new fascist state, it's the same as the old one. It just doesn't have all the goose stepping and death camps.....yet.
And just why do think the Federal reserve retired anything abouve $100 on July 14, 1969?
It's not like every criminal in movies demands their cash transactions in twenties because they don't raise any flags, like bigger bills would. Maybe in Finland it's perfectly normal to have a bunch of big bills in daily use.
Thank you, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden and so many others, for courageously defending humanity, my freedom and more!
I wonder if the Finns can unilaterally decide that the 200/500 Euro notes are no longer legal tender in their country. Then again, maybe they don't have to. Many stores over here (.nl) already don't accept large denominations.
we see your purchased some burgers and fries when your doctor told you not to. services denied / co-pay raised.
but I only bought those to give to the homeless...
DENIED
What criminal wants to be paid with a bunch of $500 bills. How do you launder that? Wouldn't it be preferable to have a bunch of $20's which you could use anywhere without anyone batting an eye? Sure the larger bills are easier to sneak through a border or something, but they come with their own set of problems too. If my extensive knowledge is to be believed, and I've seen a lot of movies, criminals prefer a variety of small unmarked bills with non-sequential serial numbers.
In the UK the biggest denomination in public operation is actually just GBP50. And even that - try giving it to a taxicab driver at 3am and see what he says - most small shops will refuse them precisely because they are the main target of fraud.
I was once given lots of £50's by a relative. It was an absolute pain trying to use them for day-to-day expenses. Some of the large supermarkets will take them but they'll scan them and test them and all sorts before they'll accept them. And a lot of places just won't accept them (sure, you can cause a fuss - but who wants to argue everywhere they go to shop?).
It was just easier to put them in the bank and draw out the equivalent in 20's while I was there.
The one good thing about the modern age is electronic money. I can't remember the last time I had to carry cash (coin or note). And without electronic money can you imagine trying to do Internet shopping etc.
Hell, last time I ordered a pizza, I did so online precisely because I couldn't be bothered to go withdraw some cash just to pay the guy.
It does make money-laundering harder. It does make mistakes easier to make (but there are processes for that, and I've never had a bad experience cancelling a payment even when the company on the other end was entirely unco-operative). And, yes, it does put a lot of your life in the hands of the banks. But I can't really see a future for cash. And certainly not cash in those denominations.
I don't have a tap-to-pay card, however. The problem needing to be solved is how do I pay for JUST a pack of mints with my card? That's tricky in terms of equipment, commission, hassle (entering codes, etc.) and security (I don't trust tap-to-pay yet).
To be honest, last I hear most counterfeiting in the UK is actually on 1GBP coins. Because they are made of cheap metal, they tend to be easier to forge than expensive security features like holograms, etc. The only "solution" is to follow what happened with the 2GBP coin, and that's to make it bi-metallic - which is the next plan from the Bank of England.
P.S. Slashdot really need to sort their systems out. Can't put in a proper bloody pound sign.
Because 200 euro and 500 euro notes are all that stands between total anonymity and letting the government track your every step...
Maybe I'm not paranoid enough; many posters seem to consider this a huge issue but I don't see it. If getting rid of 500 euro notes means loss of freedom, what does the lack of 1000 euro and higher notes mean? I realize cash would be effectively banned for many uses if all coins/notes above, say, 1 euro were taken from circulation, but I don't think the Finnish government could even succeed in doing that.
Or, they could.. you know - require photo I.D. for large cash purchases, much like the U.S. post-911.
Try going to Sears and paying $1500 for a new stove in 2002. Drivers license sir? We have to record your name and address.
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