Govt busts fake claim on RBI withdrawing Rs 500 notes from ATMs by March 2026

New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) The Central government on Friday rebutted fake information being circulated on social media platforms, claiming that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would stop Rs 500 currency notes from ATMs by March 2026.

PIB Fact Check, a fact-checking arm of Press Information Bureau (PIB), posted on X that such posts are completely fake.

"RBI to stop Rs 500 notes from ATMs by March 2026. Some social media posts claim that the Reserve Bank of India will discontinue the circulation of Rs 500 notes by March 2026. This claim is fake", according to the X handle.

It further stated that the Central Bank "has made NO such announcement".

"Rs 500 notes have NOT been discontinued and remain legal tender. Don’t fall for such misinformation. Always verify news from official sources before believing or sharing it," PIB Fact Check said.

In August last year, the government termed "untrue" a WhatsApp message that claimed the RBI had ordered banks to cease issuing Rs 500 notes via ATMs by September 30, saying no such instruction had been issued. The deceptive message also claimed that 90 per cent of ATMs will cease issuing Rs 500 notes by March 31, 2026, and 75 per cent will do so by September 30.

The PIB Fact Check unit had then said that the RBI has not issued any such instructions, and Rs 500 notes are still legal tender. In a post on X, it clarified that the widely shared claim is untrue and advised people not to believe such false information.

The Fact Check Unit stressed the significance of confirming any financial updates from official sources and cautioned that such messages are intended to deceive.

A similar claim went viral on social media in July, claiming that the RBI had a phased plan to stop issuing Rs 500 notes to ATMs by 2026. PIB Fact Check had denied the allegation at that time as well, claiming that no such directive had been issued.