Changing €100 bank notes to smaller denominations

ClaireyM7890

Aha! Finally figured out how to post a new thread on here after 2 years of trying :money:

I have a couple of €100 bank notes that were given to us after my mum sold up in Spain to return to England and we withdrew her cash from her local bank. I recently tried to spend them at the hotel I stayed at in Italy but they wouldn't accept them! :mad:

Does anyone know where I might be able to exchange them in the UK? I don't need to convert them, I just want smaller denominations of € so I can spend them in Europe. I've tried my bank and local Post Office but they don't want to know.

Neil49

Your best option is to wait until you return to return to euroland and go into a local bank.

Many shops don't even like €50 notes.

Westin

ClaireyM7890 wrote: »

Aha! Finally figured out how to post a new thread on here after 2 years of trying :money:

I have a couple of €100 bank notes that were given to us after my mum sold up in Spain to return to England and we withdrew her cash from her local bank. I recently tried to spend them at the hotel I stayed at in Italy but they wouldn't accept them! :mad:

Does anyone know where I might be able to exchange them in the UK? I don't need to convert them, I just want smaller denominations of € so I can spend them in Europe. I've tried my bank and local Post Office but they don't want to know.

Can you blame them.

There is nothing in it for them to change the €100 notes for you and I doubt any of their FX customers will want them either.

The suggestion by Neil49 is your best bet.

NoodleDoodleMan

If you go to a bank in Italy or Spain etc. remember to take your passport, otherwise you'll probably be unable to exchange your notes for smaller denominations.

I had that experience in Italy a few years back - withdrew 100 Euro from a bank ATM and was dispensed 2 x 50 Euro notes.

When I went into the bank they made a minor drama of my request to change for smaller bills - because I wasn't carrying my passport - despite having the minutes old receipt from their hole in the wall.

They eventually held a mini staff meeting and reluctantly agreed - I reckon it was because it was bank closing time and they wanted to see the back of me !!!

JezR

Shops in many countries, especially Germany or Austria wouldn't bat an eyelid at being offered a €100 note. Indeed I remember being at a pavement cafe when someone else paid for a single coffee with a €200 note.

eDicky

JezR wrote: »

Shops in many countries, especially Germany or Austria wouldn't bat an eyelid at being offered a €100 note. Indeed I remember being at a pavement cafe when someone else paid for a single coffee with a €200 note.

I Believe it's true that attitudes seem to vary widely among Eurozone countries.

For example reluctance to accept notes larger than 50€ is common in Netherlands but absent in Germany.

In Italy, although these days I usually pay by card, I've encountered no problems in paying with larger notes. Tradesmen readily accept large notes including 500€, which I've also deposited at the bank without comment.

akira181

I had a similar issue when I closed my bank account in Germany years ago. Got paid out in 100€ notes and a lot of indie kiosks didn't like accepting them. Naturally it's a bit cheeky to be buying a pack of smokes or some gum and hoping the cashier will empty their till of change to break 100€ for you though.

Nowhere here would break them so I just use that as my holiday spending money. I've never had issues in restaurants and bars when the bill is over 50€ and I'm just back from Barcelona and the supermarket there accepted a 100€ note with a 36€ bill although I did get a funny look.

Going into a bank in Europe is probably your easiest bet to get them swapped but I can never be bothered doing that as I'd need to be carrying a lot of money to make it worthwhile and I'm not a fan of doing so.