BSP may roll out more coin deposit machines

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) is looking to double the number of coin deposit machines (CoDM) across the country this year and hopes to onboard lenders to allow the crediting of deposited coins to bank accounts, an official said.

BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat told reporters on the sidelines of the CoDM Project Milestone and Retail Appreciation Ceremony on Friday that the central bank is looking to launch 25 more coin deposit machines this year.

“Hopefully. We’re just waiting for how much the cost would be (from the provider),” she said in mixed English and Filipino. “This is just a lease. We have not received a gauge of how much the costs would be. But definitely, we want to do it all over the country.”

The central bank began deploying the machines in June last year to encourage the public to deposit their idle coins for recirculation.

To date, it has rolled out 25 coin deposit machines in select retail establishments of the SM Store, Robinsons Supermarket, and Festival Mall under the first phase of the project’s implementation.

The BSP previously said it will determine if the project will be expanded to other regions and if the number of machines will be increased a year after its launch.

As of Feb. 21, the BSP has collected 145.5 million pieces of coins worth P510 million from about 134,000 transactions via the CoDMs, Ms. Puyat said.

The largest single transaction through the machines was worth over P200,000, she said.

According to Ms. Puyat, other retailers are also interested in deploying coin deposit machines units in their malls.

“We’ll definitely be talking to all the retailers all over the country,” she said.

The BSP is also looking to onboard lenders within the year as another option for where consumers can credit their deposited coins, Ms. Puyat added. Currently, depositors can only credit their coins to their GCash and Maya accounts or convert them into shopping vouchers. —