BSP: Polymer bills lead to drop in counterfeits

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a significant decrease in counterfeit banknotes since the introduction of polymer currency, with only one fake P1,000 polymer note detected per 82 million pieces in circulation.

- By KEISHA TA-ASAN

This compares to the one per 19,000 counterfeit rate recorded for the older paper-based notes.

In a statement yesterday, the BSP said it collected data based on the P1,000 polymer notes launched in April 2022.

The key findings show that documented counterfeits of the P1,000 polymer banknote were only one per 82 million pieces. This means that there were 10 counterfeits out of 825.4 million in circulation from 2022 to November 2024.

“Moreover, these counterfeits were of low quality, as their elements poorly matched the advanced security features of polymer banknotes,” the BSP said.

In contrast, documented counterfeits of the P1,000 paper currency stood at one per 19,000 pieces.