According to CNN Business, last year the Federal Reserve ordered more than 756 million $50 bills – totaling up to about $37.8 billion. It’s typically an uncommon bill… in 2019, only 3.5% of all U.S. bills printed were $50s. In 2022, that increased quite a bit to 8.5%.
The report says this is due to people hoarding cash during the pandemic, and, as the Fed noted: “We continue to experience unprecedented demand for currency.”
That’s good news, of course, for independent ATM operators who have the option to put those larger $50 bills in their machines.
However, it doesn’t look like the $50 bill boom will last too long. The Fed’s order for 2024 was about one-third of the 2022 printing and will focus on “the need to replace damaged notes.” A crisp $50 bill typically lasts about 12 years compared to a $1 bill, which lasts around six years.
