MANILA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine central bank has bared its plan to launch early next year a new set of Philippine peso bills that will benefit the visually-impaired and the elderly.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno announced the plan on Wednesday during the release of the first set of banknotes bearing his name and signature as the BSP governor.
The 20-piso, 50-piso, 100-piso, 200-piso, 500-piso and 1,000-piso banknotes with Diokno's name and signature are the freshest set of peso bills printed under the currently-circulated "new generation currency" series.
"But more than just bear our signatures, these new generation banknotes are special because they are printed through intaglio printing technology. This means that the names and signatures therein are raised and embossed for tactile feel," he said at the launch of the new bank notes.
He added, "This is an added security feature on top of the existing features at various levels such as: embossed prints, asymmetric serial number, security fibers, watermark, see-through mark, concealed value, among others."
Further security enhancements include upgraded windowed security thread with unique color and design per denomination; anti-copying and anti-scanning features; and incorporation of tactile marks.
"While the incorporation of tactile marks is meant for the elderly and visually-impaired and is part of our commitment to promote broad and convenient access to high quality financial services to the Filipino people," Diokno added.
The new peso bills that will be launched in the first quarter of 2020 will be the first that allow blind people to distinguish one denomination from another -- something they cannot do now since all the paper currency is the same size, shape, and feel, making it difficult for blind Filipinos to identify or count money without the assistance of another person.
