You might want to check your wallet or piggy banks for any old Canadian dollar bills.
The Bank Of Canada has issued a reminder about hundreds of millions of $1, $2, $25, $500, and $1,000 bank notes, which will have their legal tender status removed as of January 1, 2021.
However, the bank adds that stores can still accept these bills as payment if they so choose.
In short, removing legal tender status means that some older bank notes will no longer have the official status of being approved for payments of debt. Essentially, that means you may no longer be able to spend that 1935 $25 bank note to buy items at a store. But these bank notes will not lose their face value. If you have any of them, you will still be able to take them to your financial institution or send them to the Bank of Canada to redeem their value.
Having the power to remove legal tender status from bank notes means that we can do a better job of keeping the notes in circulation current. Newer bank notes have better security features that make them difficult to counterfeit, and they are in better condition overall. Keeping notes current means they work more efficiently for all of us.
Officially taking the $1, $2, $25, $500 and $1,000 notes out of circulation will help achieve that goal. This decision will have little impact on most of us.
That’s because these bank notes have not been produced in decades. In fact, you almost never see them. Some people do not recognize them, which means they likely would not be accepted in transactions.
By removing these old notes from circulation, we can ensure that our bank notes stay current, of high quality and secure. It also guarantees they are always easy to use.
If you wish to redeem your bank notes, the simplest way is to bring them to your financial institution. You can also send them to the Bank of Canada to redeem their value. Or, you can always decide to keep your notes.
For more details on the list of bank notes that will be officially taken out of circulation, please click here.
As of January 1, 2021, you may not be able to use some older bank notes in transactions. Learn which ones here:https://t.co/VxUaMoQoO9
— Bank of Canada (@bankofcanada) November 23, 2020
