BSP extends deadline for exchange of old banknotes till end-June

THE central bank said it has extended the period for the public to exchange their previous New Design Series (NDS) banknotes into the New Generation Currency (NGC) series until the end of June this year.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said the central bank has extended its demonetization program until June 30, 2017 from the already extended deadline of March 31, 2017.

The old NDS banknotes, which consist of 5-, 10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, 200, 500- and 1,000- peso denominations, were first issued on June 12, 1985. As of January 1 this year, they can no longer be used for purchases.

These old banknotes may still be ex- changed without charge with the BSP, or its authorized agent banks and financial institutions, for the NGC series.

The BSP said the extension was the Monetary Board’s response to the “public’s clamor for a longer period of exchange of NDS banknotes,” which have been circulating since 1985.

Guinigundo said a BSP count as of end-February this year showed that about P19.2 billion worth of the three- decades- old series still have to be exchanged for NGC banknotes.

A total of P983.3 billion in banknotes are currently in circulation, 2 percent of which are NDS bills. In volume terms, 284 million pieces of NDS bills need to be exchanged, equivalent to 8.6 percent of the 3.3 billion pieces in circulation.

Central Bank Deputy Governor Diwa Gunigundo points to a chart showing the BSP’s extension of deadline for the exchange /replacement of the old note series until June 2017 during a press briefing at the Central Bank office on March 23.