The Bank of Canada has chosen to drop its proposals to introduce a new $200 banknote, after widespread disapproval from within the retail market. The proposals were made in order to provide a higher denomination note since the withdrawal of the $1,000 note last year, in a move made as an anti-money laundering measure.
Among the retail banking sector, many were found to be in support of the introduction of a new bill. However, this enthusiasm was not shared among retailers. In a survey commissioned by the national bank, it was found that nearly 60 per cent were against the idea, with 40 per cent saying that they strongly opposed the idea of a new note.
The main reasons for this appeared to be security-related, with many saying that they were afraid that fraudsters would be more tempted to forge the larger bills, potentially leading to greater losses for retailers. This was not a fear that was shared by the banking community, however, who are aware that the majority of notes forged tend to be of the smaller denominations, with the current $100 bill constituting only seven per cent of forgeries.