500 euro notes into UK pounds

Ballard

If the OP is to be believed, and I must admit that I'm entertaining doubts, then it seems to be rather a foolish transaction.

It's not a secret that €500 aren't acceptable to financial organisations over here. Neither should it be a shock that AML rules exist which would raise eyebrows for large cash transactions.

Add to that the distinct possibility that some of the notes might be forgeries and there's little going for transacting in substantial amounts of cash.

Ben8282

Selling a property for cash is very odd indeed. Not to mention of course the Eurozone customs requirement to declare sums of cash in excess of a certain amount to customs at the time of export.

ChiefGrasscutter

...and I'd be interested in which country this was in
as in some places cash transactions over a certain value are simply illegal before we even start on the question raised.

warwicktiger

Certainly here in France the Notaire (=solicitor) would not accept cash payment. When I bought my house it had to be a bank transfer.

HappyMJ

Ben8282 wrote: »

Selling a property for cash is very odd indeed. Not to mention of course the Eurozone customs requirement to declare sums of cash in excess of a certain amount to customs at the time of export.

The money is still in the EU. We (the UK) haven't got out of that yet. There is no need to declare what you're moving between EU countries. To count as an export the money has to leave the EU.

Alter_ego

grumbler wrote: »

It has to be a really expensive holiday,

Sorry misread as 500 euros.

antrobus

HappyMJ wrote: »

The money is still in the EU. We (the UK) haven't got out of that yet. There is no need to declare what you're moving between EU countries. To count as an export the money has to leave the EU.

Not strictly correct. The official advice is;

If you bring cash to the UK from another EU country, you don’t need to declare it. You may need to declare cash you take in to other EU countries - check with the authorities in the country you’re travelling to.

https://www.gov.uk/bringing-cash-into-uk

I believe that the EU specifies that all member states must have rules about declaring €10,000 or more in cash when entering or leaving the EU, but can please themselves about the rules that apply when travelling within the EU.

antrobus

Spider1234 wrote: »

I wonder if anyone can help. I've ended up with a large sum of 500 euro notes (from selling my property abroad) and would like to deposit this money into my UK current account without losing a substantial amount of money for money exchange. Does anyone know who can accept these notes and exchange for UK pounds? Or shall I deposit the money into my bank directly? Thanks.

Not a chance.

The UK stopped dealing in €500 notes six years ago.

The decision to end trading was made after police found nine out of every 10 of the notes in circulation are linked to crime, tax evasion and terrorism. .....The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), which coordinated the voluntary industry move, said there is ''no credible legitimate use'' for the note in Britain.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7714809/500-euro-notes-withdrawn-over-organised-crime-fears.html

eDicky

MarkFromCornwall wrote: »

Slightly OT but these notes are to be withdrawn from circulation by the end of 2018.

http://www.dw.com/en/ecb-phases-out-500-euro-banknotes/a-19233831

It's only their production and issue that will end, those notes in circulation will always retain their value.

On the day after this announcement it's not surprising to see a question such as the the OP's, who is probably quite innocent or he would already know the answer.

If the cash is really from a property sale and that is well documented, its deposit in a euro account on the continent should not be much problem. Transfer to a UK account using a service such as TransferWise would then minimise loss.

Not everybody who feels more confident keeping some of their funds out of the banking system is a terrorist, drug dealer or tax evader, as the authorities would like us to believe. I also have a few of these nice purple notes and I intend to hang on to them.

ChiefGrasscutter

eDicky wrote: »

It's only their production and issue that will end, those notes in circulation will always retain their value.

Not in Greece:
If you want to exchange your E500 notes to smaller denominations you will now be charged a fee by the banks
See
http://www.ekathimerini.com/207082/article/ekathimerini/business/exchanging-a-500-euro-note-with-smaller-bills-can-set-you-back-five-euros

In addition you will be required to supply full details of the how's and why and wherefores about how you acquired them and you will be put on a list of persons carrying out "suspicious" transactions regardless of your answer.
See
http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2016/03/21/greeces-banks-keep-files-of-500-euro-notes-swappers-charge-1-5-commission/