The New P1,000 Bill: Do's, Don’ts, and Dealing With Unfit Banknotes

The new P1,000 polymer banknote caused a stir in July when a disappointed netizen took to Facebook to share that a mall had refused to accept her slightly folded bill.
The post of the netizen, a certain Reylen Lopez, can no longer be accessed on Facebook, although several media outlets have reported about the viral incident. According to Lopez, she was about to use the bill for payment but was told by the teller that they cannot accept it as per mall policy as it was folded.
The incident and the concerns it raised in the hivemind of social media prompted the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) at the time to release an advisory telling retailers and banks to accept folded polymer banknotes as daily payment transactions.
The BSP began circulating the polymer banknote in April 2022, which bore a new look that erased World War II heroes Josefa Llanes Escoda, Vicente Lim, and Jose Abad Santos for the face of the Philippine eagle.
The new banknote is smarter, easier to sanitize, more durable from temperature and time, and more inclusive, with five embossed dots for those with visual challenges.
To avoid damaging your crisp notes, here are the do's and don'ts of handling you should keep in mind.
Do's
- Keep your banknotes flat. As in the netizen's post, her P1,000 bill was rejected for its fold, so ensure you keep your polymer banknotes in a wallet. A suggestion: perhaps it might be best to go for longer wallets than those that fold in the middle so as not to risk creasing them. If you do end up creasing your note, the BSP recommended flattening it with your hands or applying pressure.
- Keep them clean. The new banknote's smooth and non-absorptive material makes it easier to sanitize. To keep it from being grimy, simply wipe it with a damp cloth or clean with an alcohol-based sanitizer with a towel.
- Use your notes to only pay for goods and services. The BSP has strongly advised the public not to hoard the new banknotes or attempt to sell them for more money.
Don'ts
- Writing or marking the polymer banknotes is a no-no.
- Excessively creasing or crumpling, tearing, cutting, stapling, and ironing the new banknotes are also discouraged.
- While rubber bands in the past have been used to secure wads of cash, these may potentially damage your banknotes, so it's best not to use them. The BSP recommended using paper bands for this.
- The BSP also discourages damaging the clear windows, metallic features, and security features of the notes.
- Exposing the banknotes to high temperatures, open flame, and chemicals like bleach are likewise advised against.
Dealing With Unfit and Mutilated Banknotes
What happens when you encounter an "unfit" or "mutilated" currency note? The BSP considers a banknote unfit for circulation based on these three criteria:
- It bears heavy creases, so much so that the paper's fiber has broken, and disintegration is palpable
- It is badly soiled or bear writings, regardless if it has the proper life or sizing
- It is limp or rag-like
Meanwhile, your currency note is considered mutilated when it falls under these conditions:
- Torn parts of the banknotes are joined with tape
- The note's original size has joined together due to use or if it has been torn, defaced, or perforated by insects, chemicals and others
- The note has been scorched or bunched
- It has been split edgewise
- It no longer bears its inscribed signatures
- And if the Security or Threat or Windowed Security has been partially or entirely lost.
When you encounter unfit notes, simply go to your bank of choice and have them exchanged or deposited. As for mutilated banknotes, those who possess such notes must present these to any bank, which will then give them back to the BSP to identify its "redemption value."
Mutilated notes will only be considered valid for redemption by the BSP if all of these requirements are satisfied:
- The note's remaining surface area is no less than three-fifths of its original size
- A part of any of the president or BSP governor's signatures is still intact
- The presence of the Embedded Security Threat (EST) or Windowed Security Thread (WST), unless the banknote has been destroyed by chemicals, fire, water, or bitten by insects and rodents. According to the BSP, a note that has removed its EST or WST shall not be accepted for redemption.
Where Do They Go?
The BSP takes out from its circulation unfit and mutilated currencies due to the nationally implemented "Clean Note and Coin Policy." The BSP, in its banknotes primer, said these unfit and mutilated notes are replaced with clean and fit ones, granted that for the former, replacing the same note should be in line with the BSP's redemption rules.
BSP also shared that mutilated notes are not recirculated as they are disposed of through briquetting, crushing, and shredding.
What If You Are Caught Mutilating Banknotes?
According to the BSP, deliberately destroying, burning, defacing, and tearing the notes is unlawful, as postulated in Presidential Decree No. 247.
"Any person who violates this decree shall be fined in the amount of not more than P20,000 and/or imprisoned for a period of not more than five years," the BSP said.