Philippine peso bills and coins: which are still valid?
Short answer: all current New Generation Currency bills and coins are valid, whether the bill is paper or polymer. The ₱20 bill is still legal tender too. Only the older New Design Series bills, last exchangeable in December 2017, no longer work.
Since polymer bills arrived, many people have asked whether their paper money is still good. Here is what you can use today, based on announcements from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Bills in use today
| Bill | Versions you will see | Valid? |
|---|---|---|
| ₱1,000 | Paper and polymer (polymer since April 2022) | Yes |
| ₱500 | Paper and polymer (polymer since December 2024) | Yes |
| ₱200 | Paper | Yes |
| ₱100 | Paper and polymer (polymer since December 2024) | Yes |
| ₱50 | Paper and polymer (polymer since December 2024) | Yes |
| ₱20 | Paper | Yes |
The BSP said the polymer series would circulate alongside the paper bills, and that paper bills remain legal tender. A shop should accept both. Folded or creased polymer bills are also legal tender, according to the BSP.
Is the ₱20 bill being phased out?
Slowly. The ₱20 coin came out in December 2019, and since then the ₱20 bill has been leaving circulation as worn bills are retired. The BSP has said it will not demonetize the ₱20 bill, so the ones in your wallet still count at full value.
Coins in use today
The New Generation coins are ₱20, ₱10, ₱5 and ₱1, plus 25, 5 and 1 sentimo. Older BSP Series coins, including the 10 sentimo, are also still legal tender, even though you rarely see them now.
Coins have a limit per payment. Under BSP Circular No. 1162 (2022), you can pay up to ₱2,000 in piso coins and up to ₱200 in sentimo coins in one transaction. Above that, it is up to the seller.
Which old bills are no longer valid?
The New Design Series bills, the ones in use before the current designs, stopped being usable for payments in 2017. The final date to exchange them at banks was 29 December 2017, so they now have no cash value. If you find a stack of them, keep them as a souvenir or ask a collector.
Counting paper and polymer bills together
A paper ₱1,000 and a polymer ₱1,000 are worth the same, so count them as one value. Sort by amount, not by material. Banks band bills in packs of 100, so one full pack of ₱500 bills is ₱50,000. Once you have your piles, our cash counter for the Philippines adds up every bill and coin for you, down to the last sentimo.
