The Federal Reserve “has suspended the availability of new currency.”
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A person uses cash as they pay for their lunch in New York, July 13, 2022. (AP)
The Federal Reserve did not discontinue distributing paper money
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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve offered holiday currency special ordering periods. That was suspended in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic. The agency said this year it will permanently discontinue the special ordering periods.
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The agency continues "to pay out new currency to depository institutions in all denominations periodically throughout the year," it said.
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The agency announced in December that a new series of notes is in production.
We all know money doesn’t grow on trees. But a Facebook post claimed it won’t get printed on paper anymore, either.
In a Dec. 9 Facebook reel, a woman says that during her trip to the bank, she noticed a sign that read, "The Federal Reserve has suspended the availability of new currency." The sign is visible behind her, and it also says, "As a result, PFFCU will not be able to provide new bills as we have in previous years when requested." PFFCU is the Police and Fire Federal Credit Union.
The woman says, "It’s basically saying that the Federal Reserve is not making available new currency, meaning they are not printing any more of this paper money. Something’s going on." A caption on the video reads, "The Federal Reserve has suspended the availability of new currency."
The reel was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve offered holiday currency special ordering periods. That was suspended in 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic. But in August 2022, the agency announced it was permanently discontinuing holiday ordering for new currency.
"We are now making this a permanent change, allowing the Reserve Banks to increase their ability to meet daily demand for currency," the announcement said.
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But that doesn’t mean the agency will stop providing cash.
In the same announcement, the agency said it will "continue to pay out new currency to depository institutions in all denominations periodically throughout the year."
The Federal Reserve doesn’t print cash; that’s a job for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Each year, the Fed determines how much cash is needed based on current demand and sends an order to the bureau, which prints it. Once the Fed receives the currency, it sends it to its 12 Federal Reserve banks across the country. Banks make their orders for cash with one of those 12 locations.
A Fed spokesperson told PolitiFact that this process wasn’t hindered during 2022 and will continue as normal, without interruption.
The agency said in a December announcement that a new series of Federal Reserve notes is in production. The notes will include the signatures of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Treasurer Lynn Malerba, the first time in U.S. history that two women have signed currency at the same time.
We rate the claim that the Federal Reserve "has suspended the availability of new currency" False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Dec. 9, 2022
The Federal Reserve, FedCash® Services: Holiday Currency Discontinuation, August 2022
The Federal Reserve, FedCash® Services: New Series of Federal Notes in production, December 2022
Associated Press, Yellen, Malerba become 1st female pair to sign US currency, Dec. 8, 2022
Interview with Federal Reserve spokesperson, Dec. 13, 2022
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The Federal Reserve did not discontinue distributing paper money
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