Still Have Your Old Bills? You May Want To Have Them Replaced As Soon As Possible!

2 min read By eCompareMo on August 20, 2015

In 2010, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas released the 2010 New Design Series banknotes to replace the edition released back in 1985. Since its release, the central bank has been insistent that people should already have their old series notes to be replaced with 2010 edition. In case you haven’t heard of the news, the BSP will start demonetizing the old banknotes. If you still have some of the old banknotes, you might want to start exchanging them as soon as possible.

Photo credits from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

Why change the bills anyway?

A lot of people may notice that the biggest changes in the new banknotes are primarily on the design of the new notes. The prominent figures have been rendered to look younger, the colors are more vivid, and famous historical spots in the Philippine. To keep up with the times, the central bank placed the best places and animals the country has to offer. While these may be the most prominent features, little do people know that these changes also have something to do with the money’s security.

To keep up with the criminals who create counterfeit money, the BSP has added additional security measures that will make it more difficult for criminals to create fake banknotes. For the new bills—especially the 500 and 1,000 denomination—there are new features like the optically variable device that changes color from red to green and vice versa. With these added features, especially that the old bills are more prone to counterfeiting, only legitimate currency will circulate in the market.

The most important things

It’s been more than four years since the BSP has released the New Design Series, and by now, people should be aware that old banknotes are about to be phased out and demonetized. However, in case you missed the memo, here are the following deadlines imposed by the BSP for the old banknotes:

January – December 2015. The 1985 series banknotes can still be used in any transaction, although the BSP encourages people to stop using them already and have them exchanged at the bank.

January – December 2016. The 1985 series banknotes are only accepted at banks and BSP offices for replacement of the New Design Series. The year 2016 will be the last call for all old series banknotes to be exchanged for new ones.

January 2017 onwards. All old series bills are now demonetized and removed of any value. They are now as good as paper. If you haven’t exchanged any of the old series bills after 2017, then too bad for you.

If you still have old notes in your possession, you better have them changed already as soon as possible. Or will you wait for 2017 and let your old bills lose their value?