BSP: Last chance to swap old peso bills this week

Those who still have in their possession the old peso bills, which lost monetary value since July, have until Friday, December 29, 2017, to swap the banknotes for the New Generation Currency (NGC) series.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. told GMA News Online on Tuesday that the central bank has no plan to extend the December 29 deadline of swapping the New Design Series (NDS) banknotes launched in 1985.

“Yes, this is final,” Espenilla said, noting that the deadline has been extended several times.

The original deadline was on December 31, 2016, but was extended to March 31, 2017 and then to June 30.

Due to “numerous requests from the general public,” the central bank set a new deadline of December 29 for swapping the old banknotes.

The BSP also moved the actual demonetization of NDS banknotes from January 1, 2017 to April 1, 2017.

In response to “public clamor,” the demonetization was further extended to July 1, 2017 after which the NDS peso bills may no longer be used to pay for goods and services.

Even if President Rodrigo Duterte declared Tuesday, December 26 a special non-working day, the BSP’s cash departments, regional offices, and branches are open to accept the demonetized banknotes.

BSP offices are open from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and accept up to P100,000 per transaction.

Since the NGC banknotes were launched in 2010, Espenilla said that there was a “tiny percentage” of old NDS bills still left in the circulation.

However, the central bank chief would not specify the amount until he has the data on hand. (GMA News Online)