Beware of Fake Money (Philippines)

Beware of fake money. there are a lot of people around the metro using fake money nowadays to purchase something or to give you as change.

Fake 100 peso bill vs. 100 Peso Bill

You would notice the following if the paper bill is fake:

1. The color of the 100 peso bill is different.
2. texture of the paper bill is  also different.

Feel the paper – The genuine note is printed on a special kind of paper which is rough when you run your fingers through it.

3. The security Thread has no marking.

The front of the thread carries in clear text the initials of the BSP together with the numeric denomination in repeated series.

4. If you can notice the watermark in the picture

Examine the watermark on the unprinted portion of the note – The watermark is the silhouette of the portrait appearing on the face of the note. Sharp details of the light and shadow effect can be seen when the note is viewed against the light. The contours of the features of the silhouette can be felt by running the fingers over the design on relatively new notes.

Security Features: (1) embossed prints, (2) serial number, (3) security fibers, (4) watermark, (5) see-through mark, (6) concealed value, (7) security thread

Characteristics of Genuine New Philippine Peso bills


Embossed bill wordings - The title of the bill and the Republika ng Pilipinas phrase is lifted above the bill and is clearly distinguishable by feel;

Rough - The New Philippine banknotes or peso bills are not smooth but a little bit rough to touch because they are made of cotton and Philippine Abaca. New bills are threaded and are colored through a process known as "intalio printing." This process takes a maximum of 4 days to finish, resulting to the rough feel of the new bills;

Vividly colored - Genuine bills are very vivid and has vibrant colors. It doesn't look dull, light, or faded. Color contrast and hue are definite giveaways when spotting fakes;

Fatter security threads - The holographic security threads are still there, but were made fatter for improved visibility. It also changes colors when viewed from different angles;

A. Viewed against the light, both the 20 peso and the 50 peso notes have embedded 2mm wide Security Threads that can be seen with the banknote is held against the light.

B. A 4mm wide stitch-like metallic security thread can be seen in 100, 200, 500 and 1000 peso notes. (Likewise at the back of the security thread is printed the initials of the BSP in repeated series.)

Multiple watermarks - Red and blue fibers embedded in the banknote paper glow under ultra violet light. You can see this glow when you use a money detector device.Aside from the watermark of the face of the bill, the Central Bank has also added a watermark of a bill's respective denomination i.e. P1,000.00 bills have now watermarks in the bill itself. Just hold the bill against a light source to see these security features;

Inscriptions - The new Philippine Peso bills have on the lower left hand corner on both faces inscriptions which look like a series of horizontal curves. These inscriptions are a pre-hispanic script called Baybayin, which in the bill translates to Filipino. The bill, when placed against the light, will show these two inscriptions perfectly mirroring each other.

Serial numbers - The serial numbers of the new Philippine Peso bills are composed of one or two prefix letters and six to seven digit in asymmetric or increasing size.

concealed denominational value - When the banknote is rotated in 45 degrees and tilted downwards, a concealed denominational value can be seen super-embossed on the smaller version of the portrait.

reflective foil - The 500 and 1000 peso bank notes now have the optically variable device patch, reflective foil.

A. For the 500 peso, the reflective coil bares the image of the small BSP logo and the Blue-naped Parrot.

B. While the 1000 peso bill, the reflective coil carries the image of the small BSP logo and the south-sea pearl.

A security feature exclusive for the 1000 peso bill is the optically variable ink for the embossed denomination value on the lower right corner of the face of the bill. It changes color from green to blue when viewed from different angles.

Security Features: (1) embossed prints, (2) serial number, (3) security fibers, (4) watermark, (5) see-through mark, (6) concealed value, (7) security thread, (8) optically variable device, (9) optically variable ink