No, RBI Will Not 'Stop' Dispensing Rs 500 Notes From ATMs

This claim is misleading, the ATMs will not stop disbursing ₹500 notes.

A misleading claim about ATMs not dispensing 500rs notes is going viral on social media.

(Photo: The Quint)

A message is going viral which claims that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked all banks to stop dispensing Rs 500 denomination banknotes by the end of September 2025 from ATMs.

"Target is 75% of all banks BANKS ATM & then 90% ATM by 31Mar26. ATM going forward will only disburse only 200₹ and 100₹ notes only," it states.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This claim is misleading. There is no official announcement about the ATMs not disbursing Rs 500 notes.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a relevant keyword search on Google and found reports by Financial Express and Business Standard published on 29 April 2025.

• The reports stated that the RBI has asked banks to ensure that ATMs dispense Rs 100 or Rs 200 denomination notes "in order to enhance the availability of these currency notes to the public".

• The reports nowhere mentions that Rs 500 denomination notes will stop dispensing from the same ATMs.

• We then checked RBI's official website and found a press release about this shared on 28 April 2025.

• It states that in order to enhance public access to frequently used denominations of banknotes, all ATMs will start dispensing Rs 100 and Rs 200 denomination banknotes on a regular basis.

(Source: RBI/Screenshot)

The notice clarifies that ATMs will not dispense Rs 100 and Rs 200 denomination banknotes along with Rs 500 denomination banknotes, refuting the viral claims about Rs 500 becoming unavailable.

PIB also dismissed the claim and stated that Rs 500 notes have not been discontinued and will remain a legal tender.

The PIB report also didn't mention anything about RBI phasing out the Rs 500 notes.

Conclusion: A misleading claim about ATMs not dispensing Rs 500 notes is going viral on social media.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)