Is this banknote still acceptable in Switzerland?

In 2015, I found an even older CHF 50 banknote in my grandparents’ house. It belonged to a series older than the 8th from which the picture is from. That one was no more legal tender since decades, for sure. Some Swiss coins found in the same box were stamped with the year 1960.

I went to inquire about at a local Raiffeisen bank branch (small office in a village in Valais), and they exchanged it against a current one. You too may have a chance doing so.

I sent it via mail to Switzerland and SNB said that they will check it and send the money to my account.

Thanks to all,

This is the answer to my question from swiss bank:

Dear XXXXXXX

The Swiss National Bank was recalling its eighth-series banknotes as of 30 April 2021. From this date on, the banknotes from the eighth series lose their status as legal tender and can no longer be used for payment purposes.

This does not apply to the public cash offices of the Confederation (SBB/CFF, Swiss Post), which will continue to accept eighth-series banknotes until 30 October 2021.

Banknotes from the eight series can be exchanged for an unlimited period of time at any cash office of the Swiss National Bank Counters in Berne and Zurich or at an SNB agency (these are all located in Switzerland) at full nominal value.

For further information on exchanging notes and coins, as well as a list of our cash offices, please consult our ‘Instruction sheet on exchanging recalled banknotes’, available at: www.snb.ch/en/mmr/reference/instr_recalled_notes/source.

Please do not hesitate to contact us again if you have further questions.

Yours sincerely,
XXX

Advice from inside Switzerland for those who want to save a trip to a bank if you don’t have "enough" to make it worthwhile to go get "rid" of.

I had around 300 worth of CHF in 10s and 20s and noticed that old notes are accepted by parking and ticket machines, so if you are a train commuter that’s where I would offload them. Also, I paid with some of the old notes in local restaurants they didn’t seem to care.

I did get the old notes rejected (that’s how I was first made aware of the issue) at the local supermarkets (Migros or Aldi I think).

Ofc the most appropriate solution would be to just go to the bank.

Heres a list:

APPENZELL
Appenzeller Kantonalbank
Bankgasse 2
CH-9050 Appenzell
+41 71 788 88 88

CHUR
Graubündner Kantonalbank
Postplatz
CH-7001 Chur
+41 81 256 91 11

FRIBOURG
Banque Cantonale de Fribourg
Bd de Pérolles 1
CH-1700 Fribourg
+41 848 223 223

GENEVA
Banque Cantonale de Genève
Quai de l’Ile 17
CH-1211 Geneva
+41 58 211 21 00

GLARUS
Glarner Kantonalbank
Hauptstrasse 21
CH-8750 Glarus
+41 844 773 773

LIESTAL
Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank
Rheinstrasse 7
CH-4410 Liestal
+41 61 925 94 94

LUCERNE
Luzerner Kantonalbank
Pilatusstrasse 12
CH-6002 Lucerne
+41 844 822 811

SARNEN
Obwaldner Kantonalbank
Rütistrasse 8
CH-6060 Sarnen
+41 41 666 22 11

SCHAFFHAUSEN
Schaffhauser Kantonalbank
Vorstadt 53
CH-8200 Schaffhausen
+41 52 635 22 22

SCHWYZ
Schwyzer Kantonalbank
Bahnhofstrasse 3
CH-6430 Schwyz
+41 58 800 20 20

SION
Banque Cantonale du Valais
Rue des Cèdres 8
CH-1950 Sion
+41 848 765 765

STANS
Nidwaldner Kantonalbank
Stansstaderstrasse 54
CH-6370 Stans
+41 41 619 22 22

ZUG
Zuger Kantonalbank
Bahnhofstrasse 1
CH-6300 Zug
+41 41 709 11 11

From outside of Switzerland you can mail them to

Swiss National Bank
Cashier’s Office, West
Bundesplatz 1
CH-3003 Berne

Don’t forget to attach:

Address (full last name, first name, full address including country)
IBAN of the account in your name
SWIFT BIC, name, and full address of the bank where the account is held

The 8th series bills are no longer legal tender as other answers have said.

They are still accepted by federal public institutions for payment (SBB/CFF/FFS and post offices) until October 30, 2021.

Many if not all banks offer to exchange or deposit the bills for their clients.

The central bank, Swiss National Bank, will exchange recalled bills, without fee or deadline, at its offices and designated institutions for anyone (subject to money laundering checks). You can find a list of offices and agencies here (including other instructions).

If you are unable to travel to Switzerland or an SNB agency, you can also mail bills to the SNB office and they will deposit the amount in your bank account, which does not have to be a Swiss one (but your bank may levy incoming wire fees). Of course, you should probably send it registered and insure the amount (at your own cost) if your country’s postal service allows it.

Businesses in Switzerland are no longer obligated to accept them, and many have already decided to no longer process them, e.g. poster taken at KFC:

("The 8th-series bills are no longer valid from 30 April 2021. Only CFF (Swiss Federal Railways) and the Swiss Post accept them. The National Bank exchanges them for new bills of equal value.")

For smaller shops and restaurants for whom the cost of cash processing is comparatively insignificant, they may still accept it.

This note belongs to the 8th series of banknotes. They are no longer legal tender, so banks do not have to accept them.

The eighth banknote series was issued between 1995 and 1998.

These banknotes were recalled as of 30 April 2021 and are thus no
longer legal tender. They can be exchanged for an unlimited period of
time at the Swiss National Bank at full nominal value.

Source

That’s an eighth series banknote, which was replaced by the ninth series only in September 2019, so yes, it’s legal tender and would be widely accepted in Switzerland as of 30 April 2021, they’re no longer legal tender!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banknotes_of_the_Swiss_franc

I would suggest trying another bank or money changer in Poland, although you may have a hard time.