People can continue to use Rs 2,000 banknotes for their transactions and also receive them in payment. However, they are encouraged to deposit and/or exchange these banknotes on or before September 30, 2023.
The facility for deposit into accounts and exchange for Rs 2,000 banknotes will be available at all banks until September 30, 2023. The facility for exchange will be available also at the 19 Regional Offices (ROs) of RBI having Issue Departments1 until September 30, 2023. Exchange facility for Rs 2,000 bank notes up to Rs 20,000 at a time would be available from May 23.
Banks have been instructed to make arrangements to reduce inconvenience to the senior citizens, persons with disabilities, etc
The Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to stop issuing Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect.
To justify the move, the RBI said, “About 89% of the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life-span of 4-5 years. The total value of these banknotes in circulation has declined from Rs 6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3% of Notes in Circulation) to Rs 3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8% of Notes in Circulation on March 31, 2023. It has also been observed that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions. Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public.”
