New 500-forint bills will be put into circulation in Hungary on 1 February 2019, and the old banknotes may be used for payment until 31 October next year, the central bank (MNB) announced on Monday.
The 500-forint notes will remain an official means of payment until 31 October 2019, after which the MNB will have them withdrawn from circulation, and only the new 500-forint bills may be used for payment after that.
Hungary’s new HUF 500 bill. Source: MNB
The central bank started to replace banknotes in 2014. The previous series was issued in 1997. Each of the new banknotes depicts the same persons and locations on their obverse and the reverse, respectively. Only the placement and size of the texts were changed besides the colours. The new banknotes also have additional security features which makes it even more difficult to forge them.
We have collected the old (left) and new (right) bank notes, both the obverses and reverses. We believe the pictures speak for themselves and clearly prove speculation wrong that the two series are easy to mix up.
The MNB also notes it has not yet made a decision on the potential withdrawal of the 10,000 forint banknote therefore both the old and new notes will remain in circulation for now.
Even if you’re stuck with old banknotes, they will not lose their value, and after the date of their withdrawal they may be replace for the same denominations free of charge in every bank and post office for three years, and at the central bank for 20 years.
