BSP announces fresh deadline for turning in old bank notes
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it will allow further replacements of old bank notes in response to public demand.
The public now has until Dec. 29 to exchange old bills into the New Generation Currency series, with the central bank providing another three-month window to turn in the old bank notes.
In a statement, the BSP said the fresh extension was made “in response to numerous requests” for more time to come forward with their remaining stock of the New Design Series bank notes which date back to 1985.
The BSP previously set a Dec. 31, 2016 deadline for the public to turn in bank notes of the old design to banks and central bank offices, but granted three extensions that led to a Sept. 30 deadline.
The old bills have not been legal tender for day-to-day transactions since Jan. 1, 2016, as these have effectively lost their value.
This time, only the BSP’s Cash Department, regional offices, and branches nationwide can exchange old notes at a maximum amount of P100,000 per transaction. Previously, authorized banks were tapped as replacement channels for the old bills.
New Generation Currency bank notes have been in general circulation since 2010.
The BSP has the sole authority to issue money for general use. Central banks regularly change the design of bills and coins to elevate security standards against counterfeiting.
Under the New Central Bank Act, the BSP can replace bank notes which have been in use for over five years.
In August, the BSP announced that it is phasing out the limited edition P2,000 and P100,000 centennial commemorative notes which were issued in 1998, with their face value to stay intact until July 31, 2018.
The central bank currently issues bills in denominations of P20, P50, P100, P200, P500, and P1,000.
Separately, the monetary authority is alsom planning to mint new designs for coins to make them harder to fake. – Melissa Luz T. Lopez
