Upgrade to old 500 forint banknotes!

The National Bank of Hungary‘s (NBH, in Hungarian: Magyar Nemzeti Bank) banknote redesign programme, launched in 2014, is drawing to a close. The 500 forint note, the last in the series, will also be upgraded soon.

The new banknotes will be issued in two stages. First, with the announcement of the NBH’s decree on banknote issuance,

the upgraded 500 forint banknote will become national legal tender from 4 July 2018.

This will be followed by the preparation of key participants of currency circulation for the issuance of the new 500 forint notes. Over the coming months, the most important task will be to make the existing banknote accepting and processing machines and ATMs able to handle the new note.

It is in this spirit that the NBH calls on operators of parking ticket, transport ticket, drink or food vending machines to start preparing their equipment as soon as possible, so that individuals may use them comfortably with the new 500 forint notes.

General public will be able to use upgraded 500 forint notes from 1 February 2019,

after the preparation period has ended. This will mark the second stage of the issuance programme.

Customers will be able to use the current 500 forint note to do their shopping until 31 October 2019. After that date, the NBH will withdraw them, and from 1 November 2019 only upgraded 500 forint notes will be available in day-to-day transactions.

It is important to know that the old banknotes will not lose their value for many years following withdrawal.

After the withdrawal date, credit institutions and post offices, and the NBH, respectively, will exchange them into legal tender of the same denomination for three years and 20 years, i.e. until 31 October 2039.

Up-to-date, detailed information on changes to forint banknotes is available on the NBH’s website on the Banknotes and Coins page (https://www.mnb.hu/en/banknotes-and-coins).

Source: MTI