BSP resorts to coin recirculation to cut energy use from minting, push financial inclusion drive

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is aiming to reduce energy consumption from minting by focusing on coin recirculation, a move that will also contribute to the central bank's financial inclusion initiative.

To achieve this goal, BSP has installed 25 coin deposit machines (CoDMs) at major shopping malls in Metro Manila. The central bank also plans to add more of these machines in the provinces to encourage people to return coins kept in their homes to circulation.

According to BSP's research, the coins per capita in the Philippines reached 358 pieces last year, a significant increase from the 121 pieces recorded in 2005. In comparison, the ASEAN average for coins per capita was only 50 pieces.

The research findings indicate that Filipinos typically keep their coins in jars, drawers, or piggy banks, which creates an “artificial shortage” that affects businesses that use coins for change.

“The artificial shortage brought on by the coins’ non recirculation is a significant factor in the ongoing demand for coins. The CoDM initiative substantially minimizes the environmental impact of increasing coin demand by conserving natural resources, reducing energy consumption, minimizing waste and greenhouse gas emissions and fostering a culture of recycling,” BSP said in its 2023 Sustainability Report.

Since deploying the CoDMs in June 2023, more than 260,000 pieces of coins amounting to over P1 billion have been collected and recirculated.

Moreover, the machines are enabling more consumers to make digital payments and open bank accounts.

The CoDMs are strategically located at the country's major malls and supermarkets, including Robinsons Malls, SM Malls, Festival Mall, Robinsons Supermarkets, and SM Hypermarkets.

In September last year, GoTyme, one of the six digital banks in the country and a sister company of the Robinsons Group by the Gokongweis, announced its partnership with the BSP for the CoDMs.

GoTyme app users can conveniently deposit their coins into the CoDMs and earn up to a 4 percent savings interest rate annually.

“This is 60 times more than the average payroll account and certainly more than if the coins were sitting in a piggybank at home,” Gotyme Bank said in a statement to the media.

BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said they are considering Cebu, Davao, Naga City in Camarines Sur, Baguio City in Benguet, and Pampanga as new locations for CoDMs.

“We were supposed to test the initial 25 machines for two years, but there has been clamor for the machines. It has been a success that the machines become full of coins within a few hours or half of the day,” she added.