BSP Estimates Savings with Polymer

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has said it will save as much as P2.4 billion (US$40 million) from the conversion of paper 1,000 piso banknotes to polymer due to their longer lifespan.

The P1,000 polymer banknotes have been on a test run since April this year with up to 500 million notes due to circulate alongside the paper version, which has a 20% abaca content. As the BSP’s printworks are currently only equipped to print paper-based banknotes, the polymer notes have been sourced from Note Printing Australia.

The statement on savings was made at a Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies hearing on polymer, which questioned BSP’s decision on choosing polymer banknotes and their impact on the abaca sector.