National Bank of Belgium is issuing safer and stronger 100 and 200 euro banknotes
28 May 2019 - 2 min Reading time
Today the new euro banknotes of 100 and 200 euros come into circulation. They are less easy to copy and more resistant to heat, cold, water, dirt, etc. This ensures that they wear less quickly and are a lot more durable. That's a good thing for everyone. However, this does not mean that the new euro banknotes are the safest and most sustainable way to pay.
The most sustainable way is digital payment: by card or smartphone. A digital payment is fast, safe, easy, always available, hygienic, good for the planet, and often cheaper and certainly more convenient for the merchant.
The 100 and 200 banknote will become safer and stronger
The notes of 100 and 200 euros are more resistant to some extreme conditions such as dirt, water, heat, cold, etc. The notes have also become somewhat smaller. This makes them less susceptible to wear and tear, so they last longer.
The new 100 and 200 euro banknotes have various security features. It will be a lot more difficult for fraudsters to counterfeit the notes. And it will be easier for consumers to distinguish a counterfeit banknote from a genuine one. They can recognize counterfeit banknotes by feeling, looking and tilting the banknote.
The 100 and 200 euro banknotes are the last in the row of euro banknotes to be renewed. Previously, the notes of 5.10, 20 and 50 euros preceded them. The banknotes that are already in circulation today will remain a valid means of payment.
Digital payments are popular
Although the new banknotes are a lot safer and sustainable, there is a payment method that does even better in that respect. And that is the digital payment: with the smartphone or the card.
A digital payment therefore has all the advantages: it is fast, safe, easy, always available, hygienic and good for the planet.
