The Swedish Central Bank (Sweden’s central bank) has now decided to do the same as other Nordic countries and introduce a time limit. In practical terms, this means that the possibility of redeeming invalid banknotes will be limited to ten years. The deadline will therefore be 30 June 2027.
In total, 3.9 billion kronor (about $371 million) is in circulation, and some of it may be lying in someone’s drawer or closet at home.
The advice now is to go through your stash carefully and perhaps even talk to older relatives. Looking at the cases we have received over the years, it is not uncommon for people to forget that they have banknotes saved somewhere, says Christina Wejshammar, head of the Swedish Central Bank’s payments department.
Not obvious
In practical terms, this concerns all banknotes that became invalid in 2017 or earlier. These include the red 500-kronor note and the green-blue 100-kronor note featuring the botanist Carl von Linné.
Anyone who finds such banknotes is now encouraged to submit them to the Swedish Central Bank for assessment. However, compensation is not guaranteed.
After ten years, it is much more difficult to obtain the documentation we need to include. You have to be able to show, with documentation, how you got the banknotes and why they were not used. After ten years, the banks cannot help with account statements, which are an important document we need to include, explains Christina Wejshammar.
Increased fee
Anyone who chooses to send in their money must be prepared for the Swedish Central Bank to charge a fee of 300 kronor (about $29), up from 200 kronor. How much of the 3.9 billion kronor the Swedish Central Bank can expect to receive is, of course, impossible to say. Christina Wejshammar points out that for some people, the banknotes may have value beyond their monetary worth:
There may also be people who think it’s nice to save old banknotes because it’s a bit nostalgic, she says.
