refusing to accept cash

Quote: Pacomartin

Obviously, the Canadians are not printing the $100 for world consumption like the USA, and they are not as averse to using the $50.

It is interesting that the $50 is unpopular in the USA. $50 now is like a $20 was in the 1980s, so it cannot be the value. I collect rent from people who pay in $50s often, they sit until I deposit them or use at the casino. I rarely ever use them elsewhere.

Skylar White even mentioned this made them harder to wash.

Pretty much all the bank ATM's have 50s downtown ones in major cities often have 100s. Private ATM's usually only have 20s other than Casinos which always have 100s as well.

I don't know if much of Canada's bills are exported. The Canadian banks have a significant presence in many Caribbean countries so it could be happening some there but I have never noticed it when I have been in the Caribbean. Our mint has always struck the coins for many of the Caribbean countries.

The run up in number of bills in circulation is likely influenced by our increasing Asian population who often like to keep significant reserves in cash.

Quote: AZDuffman

It is interesting that the $50 is unpopular in the USA. $50 now is like a $20 was in the 1980s, so it cannot be the value. I collect rent from people who pay in $50s often, they sit until I deposit them or use at the casino. I rarely ever use them elsewhere.

Part of it is the extreme number of ATMs in the USA. Someone might go to the ATM and get five $20 bills and then go again two days later. Canadians still predominately use the $20, but they are much more likely to mix in the $50.

Australians, Swiss, Norwegians, Danes and Swedes use the fifty equivalent predominantly. The €50 banknote is 46% of the total number of banknotes in circulation in Euro Area.

What is interesting is that the Swedes are down to fewer than 21 banknotes per inhabitant, but they still get fifties out of the ATM. They only introduced the twenty equivalent two years ago, but it's not very popular..

Quote: AZDuffman

Skylar White even mentioned this made them harder to wash.

I think that is a significant point. Simple math tells us that a million Euros weighs 10 kg in €100 banknote, 5 kg in €200 banknotes, and 2 kg in €500 banknotes. So they discontinued the €500 banknotes to make it harder to board a plane (for example).

But as the Skylar White character points out, transporting the cash is the relatively minor part of money laundering. The hard part is dispersing the bills. With a €500 or $500 banknote people are going to check it very carefully. Now with more $100 banknotes in circulation than $1 banknotes, it's a lot easier to disperse them without creating havoc.

When the new 1000CHF~$1000 swiss banknote is released next year, I think it will become very popular around the world. The image below is from the 200 CHF banknote (no images of the new 1000CHF banknote will be released in advance). We just know it will have two hands shaking.

These new Swiss banknotes have incredible anti-counterfeiting devices. I think they will make a dent in the circulation of $100 banknotes around the world.

The 1000 CHF banknote was introduced in 1907 when it was set at exactly 4.5 kg of silver (nearly 10 lbs). At the same year, the US$100 bought slightly more than 10 lbs of silver.

There are a number of displays with $1 million on display


I suspect that someone will show a display with 1 million CHF~ $1 million after the new note is released in early 2019, since it will only require a thousand banknotes if you use the 1000 CHF denomination

Quote: Pacomartin

But as the Skylar White character points out, transporting the cash is the relatively minor part of money laundering. The hard part is dispersing the bills. With a €500 or $500 banknote people are going to check it very carefully. Now with more $100 banknotes in circulation than $1 banknotes, it's a lot easier to disperse them without creating havoc.

I was watching "Ozark" on Netflix until I got tired of having to see the gay guys all the time. Otherwise a decent show. The main guy shows his kid that the first step in money laundering is to actually launder it, put it in a canvass bag in the washing machine so it does not look all brand new.

I imagine that part is true. You can deposit new $50/100s without suspicion in small amounts. But in quantity it becomes harder. I posted how to launder $1MM here (or at WoV maybe) years back. Doing that would be easy if you did it over time. But you get $80MM over a few months then you just need to store it as you are not going to wash that much. It would take a dedicated crew to do it. And they will all want a cut. So you just rent a storage bin.

I have to figure even if you had a smaller casino it would be hard to launder loads of new cash.

Quote: AZDuffman

It would take a dedicated crew to do it. And they will all want a cut. So you just rent a storage bin.

I have to figure even if you had a smaller casino it would be hard to launder loads of new cash.

I think the new 1000CHF banknote that will be released early next year is going to be very helpful in laundering cash.

The previous versions were released on 4 April 1978 and on 1 April 1998. Circulation was low enough that most people didn't recognize them


Will the thousand-franc note become the cash of choice for crooks?

A million dollars weighs 220 lbs if it is in $20s, and only 2.2 lbs in 1000CHF banknotes. The new banknotes will not feature any portraits, but a series of hand designs that will become recognizable outside of Switzerland. They have so many security features that counterfeiting will become effectively impossible.

1000CHF

200 CHF

100 CHF

I envision dodgy cash dealer turning stacks of $20s or lower into 1000CHF banknotes where a million dollars can be easily stored and transported.

FED display of a million dollars in $20 bills

Quote: Pacomartin

I think the new 1000CHF banknote that will be released early next year is going to be very helpful in laundering cash.

On the level of transportation yes. It will do next to nothing to help layering or integration.

Pablo Escobar lost tens of thousands per week to rodents literally eating the profits. $1000 bills would need less space so easier storage. But how to get the $1000s? You cannot get them from a bank in any kind of quantity before some teller says, "hey......" Casinos look out for that sort of thing. Dope fiends do not pay with large bills. (I have seen a neat take on that part.)

What it seems to most do is to allow large transactions like the old days when banks used huge bills not electronic transfers.

Cashlessness in China



It seems that the Chinese have taken to cashlesness with even more gusto than Scandinavia. The accounts are seemingly impossible to get without a chinese bank account, leaving tourists in the cold. Credit cards are not always an alternative.

The WSJ ran a nightmare story of tourists trapped in rest rooms without a QR device code reader who are unable to get toilet tissue. Lots of people who try to flag down a stranger to pay their bill to be reimbursed with cash since the vendor will not accept cash. And of course the involuntary huge tip since the vendor claims to have no cash to make change.

Sweden's cash in circulation is up 18.5% from it's low 20 months ago. The Swedes seem to be saying that "enough is enough".

Many countries are going cashless and it allows an easier way to track people.

USA will have cash for a while. While the OP is correct that there is no Federal mandate to accept cash (as far as I know more State level mandates either), but many cities prohibit cashless buisness as they are viewed as a way to discriminate against homeless people (who often have nothing but cash). And, these local laws seem to be spreading, it would not surprise me if some states eventually make is state wide (if they have not already, have not researched it lately).

Quote: Gandler

And, these local laws seem to be spreading, it would not surprise me if some states eventually make is state wide (if they have not already, have not researched it lately).

I don't think there is much call for it on the state level. If a business chooses to go cashless in the USA it basically makes a decision to throw away a certain portion of potential business in favor of efficiency. Only businesses in large cities have a viable option to throw away that business.