BSP Wins Currency Manager Award for Polymer Banknotes

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has been named Currency Manager of the Year by London-based Central Banking, recognizing its innovation and efficiency in supplying secure banknotes to meet the country’s growing economic needs.

The award, announced on March 20 and presented on June 11, 2025, highlighted the BSP’s strategic shift to polymer banknotes and its international collaborations for secure currency production.

Central Banking praised the BSP’s agreements with Banque de France and Bundesdruckerei, Germany’s state-owned banknote printer, signed in October and November 2024, respectively.

It also acknowledged the BSP’s longstanding partnership with Note Printing Australia, which produced the Philippines’ first polymer notes, beginning with the PHP 1,000 denomination in 2022.

The polymer series was expanded in December 2024 to include the PHP 500, PHP 100, and PHP 50 notes, offering greater durability and security.

“Banknotes remain vital in our developing economy,” said BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. in a recorded message.

“We’re committed to ensuring our people have enough of them and have faith in them.”

BSP Assistant Governor Mary Anne Lim accepted the award during the London ceremony, crediting international partnerships for strengthening the bank’s currency operations.

“Our collaborative efforts with fellow central banks and government-owned printworks have made our currency management robust and resilient,” Lim said.

The BSP emphasized the “smarter, cleaner, stronger” advantages of polymer notes: improved anti-counterfeiting features, better hygiene, and a longer lifespan—two to five times more durable than paper notes.

Despite the polymer rollout, the BSP will continue producing paper notes to ensure a smooth transition and public familiarity.

Central Banking, a respected source of analysis and training for over 140 central banks globally, recognized the BSP’s leadership in modernizing currency management in Southeast Asia.

The award adds to the BSP’s recent international honors, including the Best New Banknote Series for the polymer series and an innovation award for its Coin Deposit Machine project from the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA).

Governor Remolona also earned an A- rating from Global Finance magazine in 2024, underscoring the BSP’s overall performance under his leadership.