The strange lack of new prefixes so far in 2025

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I agree that there is a lack of new prefixes for the banknotes. In the last month, I have seen only a couple of FZZ $20 banknotes but I have yet to see a FLx series banknotes.  Same for the $5 banknotes, I have plenty of INZ's in my possession but I suspect that the IOA will be the new series with Terry Fox, my speculation. I have attached as an image of the the FZZ found in August 2025.  If anyone wants the latest prefixes for the $5 or $20 or $10, please let me know as Ottawa Valley/Montreal gets all of the new prefixes.
Best regards, Whitenite

I have found a few $20 FZZ here in Toronto and one FLA. I think we will see $5 IOA as early as next year. Terry Fox fives will be issued in 2027 at the earliest, more likely in 2028-2029.

You know, I wonder that banks may be choosing not to order new banknotes until after the Canada Post labour issues are resolved, as banks may have had to submit the orders for new banknotes by postal mail?

I'm not normally first at anything, but I just received HJZ.  It has the Rogers-Macklem signature combination, so it looks like there will be a decent number of $100 prefixes with this signature combination.

And sadly, I have yet to see an HJ* series prefix in my region.  I have a feeling demand for $100 notes in my province has dropped, as well as most other banknotes.  But the good news is, I did get a GKY from a Scotiabank ATM today, and except for a minor fold it's in good quality.  The GKY is in the 3 million range, so if I do see any more GKYs in that range, chances are it came to my province, and the HJ* series will likely finally arrive to my province by next spring, as I never do see new banknotes in the winter months in my region.

And speaking of Y as a third letter, I discovered FFY was recently reported to the SNDB.  I have a feeling if there has been a surge of $10 notes in Newfoundland in recent years, it's likely now heading west - meaning that the $5 note is gradually being replaced with $10 notes due to inflation, and the $10 bill's dark days may finally be over.

I wonder if the anemic distribution of Lane–Macklem $20s reflects the sheer volume of roughly 1.5 billion Macklem–Carney and Wilkins–Poloz $20s already in circulation, or if it’s more a matter of deliberately stretching out the Lane–Macklem notes until the King Charles III $20s arrive in 2027, thus conserving print runs for notes that would otherwise be rendered obsolete. Probably a bit of both. Of course, factors like inflation, the move away from cash, and other macroeconomic trends are no doubt playing their part as well.

I wonder if the anemic distribution of Lane–Macklem $20s reflects the sheer volume of roughly 1.5 billion Macklem–Carney and Wilkins–Poloz $20s already in circulation, or if it’s more a matter of deliberately stretching out the Lane–Macklem notes until the King Charles III $20s arrive in 2027, thus conserving print runs for notes that would otherwise be rendered obsolete. Probably a bit of both. Of course, factors like inflation, the move away from cash, and other macroeconomic trends are no doubt playing their part as well.

You got it right, in the case of $20 it is both of these factors. Also, as demand for cash in everyday transactions decreases, the need for it as a store of value remains strong, but for that 100s are more attractive that 20s or 50s. The number of 100s in circulation has grown dramatically in the last 5 years. This year has been slow for new prefixes until now. $100 HJZ has been reported (thank you PaperOrPlastic for the image), as well as $10 FFZ.

I wonder if the anemic distribution of Lane–Macklem $20s reflects the sheer volume of roughly 1.5 billion Macklem–Carney and Wilkins–Poloz $20s already in circulation, or if it’s more a matter of deliberately stretching out the Lane–Macklem notes until the King Charles III $20s arrive in 2027, thus conserving print runs for notes that would otherwise be rendered obsolete. Probably a bit of both. Of course, factors like inflation, the move away from cash, and other macroeconomic trends are no doubt playing their part as well.

It's possible that they're trying to stretch out the Lane/Macklem (and where I am, what's left of the Wilkins/Poloz) signature $20s in the years leading up to the launch of the King Charles $20s.  I remember getting a fresh $20 with FZP in recent months, so chances are, in the new year, we'll likely see FZR and FZS released to banks in my region, and taking the winter break into consideration, by the time they exhaust the Wilkins/Poloz $20s the new $20s with King Charles will likely be released, meaning that the Lane/Macklem $20s will be skipped in my region.

I bet that, during the final weeks of the current $20s, there's probably going to be quite a lot of activity on the SNDB, with a lot of new finds for the rarely-seen Lane/Macklem $20 prefixes that could see a big surge in releasing due to the BoC's need to aggressively clear out whatever $20s are left in preparation for the new $20s.

Could it also be possible that banks in Newfoundland are not ordering any more new $5 notes until the Terry Fox $5s come out?

Regarding new $100 prefixes in my region, after discovering GKW in the 5M range and GKY in the 3M range this year, I am now seeing a trend.  Because of very low demand for new banknotes now (possibly lowest ever), it appears that new serial number prefixes now take three years from the initial reporting to finally arrive to Newfoundland (and possibly Atlantic Canada in general).  The probability of seeing the first HJ* series prefix in my hometown in 2026 appears pretty good.

If this trend of three years with the $100s prove true, chances are the Rogers/Macklem $5s could finally arrive to my province next spring - unless the banks decide to replace another batch of existing $5s with more $10s.  Also, for what it's worth, I did see someone from Nova Scotia having reported an INV in the 4 million range on the SNDB.  We all know that INT and INU are fully exhausted now, so Newfoundland definitely won't be seeing any fresh $5s with those prefixes.  On the average, in this day and age, three or four new prefixes per set of newly printed $5s coming to Newfoundland is the norm now.

Another possibility, could some banks be stretching out their supply of unissued banknotes because the branches in question could be candidates for closing down in the future?  I mean, the Scotiabank near where I live - a smaller branch - appears to have been issuing fresh Macklem/Carney $100s with EKP which implies these $100s were sitting in the vault for well over a decade until last May.  I have a feeling this is not a good sign of things to come for the branch which is very convenient for me and I would hate to see it go, and I would hate to have my account transferred to a branch in another area of town.

I bet more rural branches will close down in the coming years, and eventually some small urban branches will follow.  Or, those smaller urban branches will probably discontinue in-person banking services in favour of advice-only services. But based on the EKP $100s I received - in sequential order - back in May, it is a telltale sign that the branch is likely being considered for closure or  switching to advice only services - and if either option occurs, it will mean I could have to travel all the way across town to a branch in a major shopping mall if in the event I need to get my ATM card replaced, but at the same time I will likely have no choice other than to use my debit card for purchases which could result in additional service fees.

As for current developments with Scotiabank, a credible source reported two days ago (as I post this) that the corporation announced staff layoffs across Canada which will take place in the coming months.  Also, my branch had updated their teller hours, and the Friday hours were trimmed from 10:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. just like on Monday through Thursday.  I also read a comment that the ATM area is locked between 7:00 p.m.and 7:00 a.m. - in order to prevent panhandlers from sleeping in the area.  So this means what used to be 24-hour ATM service is now cut to 12-hour ATM service.

Locking ATM lobbies at night, when banks are closed, defeats the purpose of having ATMs in the first place, and is one of the most irksome ideas ever.

It's interesting that you make the leap from a branch having old prefixes to one that might be closing soon. The old prefix bundles could have been sitting in Bank of Canada vaults that long too, right?