The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is now updating its circular regarding the legal tender limit for the P20 coin, the latest addition to the country’s legal tenders.
In an advisory issued yesterday, the central bank urged the public to use coins that are currently in circulation to pay for goods and services.
“All denominations (i.e., 1-, 5-, 10-, and 25-sentimo; 1-, 5-, 10-, and 20-piso) of the BSP Coin Series and the New Generation Currency Coin Series are legal tender and can be used as payment for goods and services,” it said.
Citing BSP Circular No. 537, series of 2006, the central bank said the P1, P5, and P10 coins can be used as payments for amounts up to P1,000.
On the other hand, coins with lower denominations can be used as payments for amounts not higher than P100.
“The BSP is currently updating the said circular on the legal tender limit for the 20-Piso coin. Meanwhile, the public may also use the 20-Piso coin or banknote for payment transactions,” it said.
The BSP earlier said the P20 banknote is the most-used currency denomination in the country.
It launched the two-toned P20 coin, which is the highest denomination among the new generation coins (NGC), in 2019.
Minting this currency is cost-effective than printing the paper bill of the same denomination since the former lasts for around 10 to 15 years compared to the about six-month life space of the paper bill, it said.
It has been calling for wider use of coins to promote its efficient recirculation.
“Inefficient circulation of coins hampers the use of coins as a medium of exchange and may also cause artificial coin shortages in specific locations. On the other hand, efficient coin circulation results in lower production costs due to the minting of fewer coins,” it added.*PNA
