If you have damaged or destroyed notes in your wallet - or at home - you should know that Banco de Portugal (BdP) has a service responsible for evaluating damaged notes and coins (for example, in fires, floods or if they have been buried). After the evaluation, the holders are given an amount.

In fact, last year the banking supervisor recovered almost 29 thousand notes, having returned 1.4 million euros to citizens who had damaged notes, according to the 2023 Monetary Issuance Report.

Do you have damaged notes? Here's what to do

Any citizen who has destroyed or mutilated notes (damaged by humidity, burned, eaten by animals, among other reasons) can send them to Banco de Portugal for evaluation.

For a euro note to be evaluated, more than 50% of the surface of the note must be able to be reconstructed, in order to guarantee its authenticity by the security elements (in the case of escudo notes it was 75%).

If it is possible to evaluate the damaged note, it is destroyed and the citizens are given the equivalent amount.

And what if the notes are unrecognizable?

If the notes are unrecognizable, they are considered lost, destroyed and the owner does not receive any compensation.

All cases of destroyed notes that reach Banco de Portugal for evaluation are reported to the Financial Information Unit of the Judicial Police (PJ) and to the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP), in order to prevent possible crimes.

When the banking crisis of 2008 occurred and there was fear of the collapse of banks and loss of savings, many people withdrew money and kept it at home. A few years later, they went to get the notes they had kept and realized that they were destroyed. In 2022, on the island of São Jorge (Azores), the fear that the volcanic eruption would destroy homes (as happened in the Canary Islands, in Spain) led many people to go and get money that was kept at home to deposit in the bank. Then, they realized the condition of the notes and many went to Banco de Portugal to have them evaluated.

In addition to destroyed or mutilated notes delivered by citizens, Banco de Portugal also evaluates stained notes, for example, by accidental shots in automatic note dispensers (known as multibanco) or in money transport bags. The bags that cash-in-transit companies use to transport notes have intelligent devices that neutralize the notes when any strange movement occurs, staining them with ink.

This area of Banco de Portugal also evaluates coins, although these are much more resistant, and it is also necessary to attest to their authenticity and verify that the damage was not intentional.

Read Also: Banco de Portugal recovered 29 thousand damaged notes in 2023 (Portuguese version)