New generation peso bills for release in 2023 — Diokno

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will release the enhanced new generation currency (NGC) banknotes by 2023.

In a virtual press conference, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the central bank’s cash distribution hubs across the country would only release the enhanced NGC, launched on July 29,  by the end of his term in 2023.

Diokno said the BSP currently distributes both the enhanced NGC and the earlier version that still does not have the new security features.

He said the two versions would continue to co-exist until the earlier banknotes are withdrawn from circulation due to wear and tear.

The BSP chief said the central bank has so far circulated 29 million pieces of the enhanced NGC banknotes worth P24.5 billion since their launch in July.

The new banknotes, which address the needs of the elderly and visually-impaired and feature the latest in anti-counterfeiting technology, have been issued to banks in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the provinces.

“This means that more of our countrymen are able to use these more inclusive and more secure Philippine banknotes in making their daily transactions,” Diokno said.

To help the elderly and visually-impaired recognize banknotes and distinguish denominations, the BSP included short horizontal lines that may be touched and felt at the right side of the banknotes.

A pair of these lines will be for the P50, two pairs for the P100, three for the P200, four for the P500 and five for the P1,000.

He also said the BSP strengthened the security features of the P500 and P1,000 bills by adding a rolling bar effect on the value panels and color-shifting in the optically variable ink to make the higher denominations more difficult to counterfeit.

“This is aimed at making the higher denominations more difficult to counterfeit,” the BSP chief said.

The enhanced NGC series also feature indigenous Filipino weaves on the windowed security thread of the P100, P200, P500 and P1,000 banknotes, while the P20 was replaced by a coin version.