The end of 2019 also marks the end of the 20-peso bill.

The planned shift in the manufacture of P20 bills into coins begins this week as the project launches on Tuesday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said.

“On 17 December we will launch it,” Diokno told reporters.

According to him, even with the shift coins instead of paper like in the past, the BSP will still circulate P20 paper bills as both will continue to be used simultaneously by the public. However, the printing of the P20 denomination in paper form will be stopped eventually.

“Right now, the bulk of our printing is in P20. Definitely, its printing will be reduced,” the BSP chief said.

According to Diokno, continuing to issue the P20 denomination in paper does not make economic sense and causes the central bank to lose money.”

“In fact, the BSP’s biggest expense is printing money. As we want to cut cost, this is the way to do it,” the former Budget chief said.

He reiterated that producing the P20 denomination in coin form is more feasible as metal is certainly more durable.

The P20 paper bill is also the most used denomination in the market.

He also said the P20 paper bill, being the most use, has a lifespan of only six months and forces the central bank to replace tattered paper bills every six months.

But in comparison, the P20 coin has a lifespan of 10 years,” he said.