BSP Cebu to have own coin minting plant soon

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu will soon produce its own coins.

A coin minting plant will soon be built at the Cebu regional office of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas next year.

In an interview yesterday, BSP-Cebu deputy director Christine Tan said the Cebu coin plant will produce the coin needs in Visayas and Mindanao.

Presently, coin production is centralized in BSP's Manila headquarters.

"This will have a cost benefit effect," the official said.

While no specific timeline has been given yet, Tan said the minting plant will likely be up "anytime next year".

Coins withdrawn by Cebu banks from BSP as of this month already totaled about P182 million in value, she said.

Moreover, she also dismissed speculations of an artificial shortage of coins.

She said there is enough supply of coins.

Earlier this year, the BSP had rolled out new designs for coins, with the latest currency series coming in silver but carrying various features for distinction.

Old coins currently in circulation have been in use since 1995.

BSP has not yet set a demonetization schedule for the old coins and that these will still be accepted for day-to-day transactions alongside the new coin series.

The BSP has the sole authority to issue money for general use.

Central banks regularly change the design of bills and coins to elevate security standards against counterfeiting.

The central bank prints bills and mints coins at its Security Plant Complex along East Avenue in Quezon City. The new coin series is expected to reduce minting expenses for the BSP as nickel is a lot cheaper than metal alloy.

To recall, the central bank had also released the new banknotes in 2010, which replaced the 1985 design series for paper money. The old bills have been rendered unusable for day-to-day transactions since 2016.

Under the New Central Bank Act, the BSP can replace money which have been in use for over five years.