Do money age? The secret journey of banknotes

What happens to the banknotes we use every day when they become worn out or damaged? This is a question that naturally arises whenever we make a payment to obtain a good or service.

All commercial banks deposit the cash collected from their clients with the Bank of Albania. At the Issuance Center, banknotes go through a complete control cycle, which includes several stages: recounting, verification, sorting, and classification.

During this process, banknotes are checked using specialized equipment. Those that are in good condition are returned to circulation, while damaged banknotes are identified and destroyed, to be replaced with new ones. This process ensures that physical money remains reliable, dignified, and easy to use in everyday life.

Within a year, the Bank of Albania can process around 100 million banknotes. On average, a banknote returns to the counters of the Bank of Albania less than once a year. The denominations that circulate most frequently are the 500 and 1,000 lek notes, with a frequency of about 0.6 times per year, while larger denominations such as 5,000 and 10,000 lek return much more rarely.

The continuous recycling of banknotes maintains the high quality of money in circulation and contributes to increasing public confidence in the monetary system.

"KORCA BOOM"