Questions regarding scope and background

How many older banknotes and 1000-krone banknotes are in circulation?

Danmarks Nationalbank calculates banknote circulation, which is the difference between the banknotes issued by the bank at any given time and those received at any given time.

In the first 18 months, since Danmarks Nationalbank announced that old banknotes and current 1000-krone banknotes would no longer be valid as a means of payment after 31 May 2025, the total value of received bank notes from those series amount to kr. 20.5 billion. As of 31 May 2025, the total value of banknotes still in circulation from those series is kr. 3.9 billion.

In May 2025, the circulation of old banknotes (older than the current series from 2009 with bridges and ancient finds) was reduced by approx. kr. 56 million. As of 31 May 2025, the remaining circulation of old banknotes amounts to kr. 2.5 billion.

The circulation of 1000-krone banknotes in the current series was reduced by kr. 0.3 billion in May 2025. As of 31 May 2025, the remaining circulation of 1000-krone banknotes amounts to approx. kr. 1.4 billion.

Calculated as of 31 May 2025:

You can see trends in total banknote circulation in Danmarks Nationalbank's StatBank.

How many banknotes are expected to be deposited?

Based on developments in the number of submitted banknotes, the awareness survey and the experience from Norway and Sweden, Danmarks Nationalbank expects that the vast majority of older banknotes that people wish to redeem the notes have already done so. Therefore, the assessment is that more than DKK 2 billion in older banknotes will not be handed in before the deadline on 31 May 2026. The expectation is that many of the older banknotes, that has not yet been redeemed, have either been worn down over time or are stored as collector's items.

Conversely, the expectation is that the vast majority of the 1000-krone banknotes from the 2009 series will be handed in ahead of the deadline, as the 1000-krone banknote has a high nominal value and is a newer banknote, which has probably been worn down to a lesser extent over time or is stored as a collector's item.

Danmarks Nationalbank expects that approx. DKK 1 billion of the 1000-krone banknotes from the 2009 series will not be deposited with Danmarks Nationalbank before 31 May 2026. This corresponds to less than 5 per cent of the 1000-krone banknotes that have been in circulation since the 2009 series and is not considered to be significant in comparison with the Nordic countries, among others.

Read more about Danmarks Nationalbank's expectations to deposits.

Why has older Danish banknotes become invalid?

Danmarks Nationalbank wants to ensure that Danish banknotes are secure and efficient means of payment now and in the future. Until 31 May 2025, all banknotes issued from 1945 onwards were valid as a means of payment, but they could not all be used in the same way. This could risk damaging confidence in cash.

• Paying with older banknotes could be difficult, as store staff and private individuals may not recognise them and could therefore be unwilling to accept them.
• Banknotes issued from 1997 onwards could be used in ATMs and the closed cash systems of the retail trade. This was not the case for pre-1997 banknotes.

Why has the 1000-krone banknote from the current banknote series become invalid as a means of payment?

The 1000-krone banknote was not needed to support secure and efficient payments in Denmark – both because cash is being used less and less, and because cash payments generally involve quite small amounts. Furthermore, anti-money laundering rules limit the size of cash payments.

In addition, phasing out the 1000-krone banknote could entail certain advantages, such as reducing the need for stores to keep change. Furthermore, although the number of counterfeit Danish banknotes remains low, the 1000-krone banknote was increasingly subject to attempts at counterfeiting.

Finally, the police estimated that the 1000-krone banknote was used to a greater extent than other banknotes to support various types of financial crime.

Does this development mean that cash will soon disappear completely?

Danmarks Nationalbank does not expect cash to disappear. We know that there are many citizens who prefer to pay with cash for various reasons, and some citizens also depend on being able to use cash.