THE Cebu Bankers Club is reminding the public to do away with bills that do not have security thread because banks no longer accept them, following an order from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas last year.
CBC president Gino Gonzales said BSP Circular No. 829, section 22 (e) which states that there will be no compensation to the owner/bearer of currency notes where the embedded security thread placed thereon is “completely lost.”
A note that has lost its embedded security thread or windowed security thread is considered mutilated.
“It is hereby firmly recommended that our member banks desist from accepting notes without the embedded security thread,” the official said in a statement.
P100 notes to P1,000 notes have visible security threads on the surface.
A security thread is a security feature of banknotes to protect against counterfeiting, consisting of a thin ribbon that is threaded through the note’s paper. It is located at the right half of the note.
Intentional
Gonzales suspects that the absence of security threads in some notes may have been caused by counterfeiters who intentionally “slice” them and place them on fake notes.
However, security threads of P20 and P50 notes are embedded, which make them less prone to damage.
For notes that have damaged security threads but are not completely lost, Gonzales clarified that banks will accept them, if the damage appears to be caused by “wear and tear, accidental burning, action of water or chemical or bites of rodents or insects and the like.”
The mutilated notes will be subject for referral and transmittal to BSP in Quezon City or any of the BSP regional offices for determination of redemption value.
“This incident is not that alarming pa,” Gonzales, estimating that each bank may have received tens of thousands of mutilated notes.
CBC has 38 member banks.
The organization has already submitted a letter to BSP requesting the latter to accept and compensate mutilated notes that have completely lost its security thread until this month.
The organization is still waiting for central bank’s response.