A 200-euro banknote is legal in Croatia, but retailers can reject it!

Do all retailers have to take a 200-euro banknote if the consumer wants to buy something with it? Yes, and no. The issue became topical after a customer at one of Croatia's big retailers was denied the privilege of shopping because he intended to pay a bill of 30,00 euros with a 200-euro banknote. It is already known that retailers such as Spar and Interspar do not accept 200- and 500-euro banknotes. Also, Lukoil, a chain of gas stations, will not accept 500-euro banknotes.

The Croatian Consumer Association stood up in defense of the right of the Croatian customer to pay small amounts of receipts with large denominations of euro banknotes. They also recommend submitting the application to the State Inspectorate.

However, the European Central Bank, under whose umbrella the Croatian National Bank now operates, is no stranger to such behavior by traders. Resistance to large denominations of euro banknotes is a well-known problem of the eurozone, in fact so well-known that the Central Bank was forced to react in 2010 by issuing "recommendations." instead of regulation.

They recommended that all euro banknotes should be accepted as a means of payment. However, if the retailer does not have enough cash to return the change or when the difference between the price to be paid and the value of the banknote is disproportionately large, the retailer may reject the large denomination of the banknote. It is important to the ECB that business is conducted in good faith and that the rejection of the 200-euro banknote is not permanent but an exception.

In practice, the exception has become permanent in many places.

Such an interpretation of the ECB is accepted in the countries of the eurozone, so that throughout its 19 and now 20 member states, each point of sale, whether it is a shop or a restaurant, makes a decision for itself.

In the end, can Croatian citizens pay with a 200-euro banknote? They can; it is a legal means of paymen;, but they cannot force anyone to take it if they use it to pay a receipt significantly less than 200 euros or if the retailer objectively does not have enough change to return the change.