Rs 500 Notes Share Soars to 86.5% as Rs 2,000 Notes Withdrawn: RBI

New Delhi: The share of Rs 500 denomination currency notes in overall currency circulation in the country reached 86.5 per cent at the end of March 2024, as against 77.1 per cent in the year-ago period, stated the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday.

In its annual report, the RBI attributed the surge of Rs 500 notes in circulation mainly to the withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 denomination notes announced in May 2023. Share of Rs 2000 denomination notes has gone down to 0.2 per cent from 10.8 per cent in the year-ago period.

Volume-wise, the Rs 500 denomination was the highest at 5.16 lakh notes while Rs 10 denomination came a distant second at 2.49 lakh as of March 31, 2024, as per data shared in an annual report.

The RBI annual report said it also carried out a survey on currency usage among the public, where over 22,000 respondents across the country indicated that cash is “prevalent” even though digital modes of payments were gaining traction.