Nearly two years after launching the coin deposit machines (CoDM) in June 2023, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday the amount of coins deposited in the machines has reached P1.308 billion as of February 15.
The P1.308 billion collected from the CoDMs represent 1.54 percent of the total value of coins in circulation.
The value of coins in circulation was P84.6 billion as of end-January 2025, equivalent to an estimated 42 billion pieces in different denominations, the BSP Communications Office said.
“The coin deposit machines support the BSP’s Coin Recirculation Program to put idle coins back in circulation to serve the country’s currency needs,” the central bank said.
Through the machines, people can place legal tender coins with the total value credited to their e-wallet accounts such as GCash, Maya or GoTyme.
Customers of SM Stores and Festival Mall may redeem the value of their deposited coins in the form of shopping vouchers that can be used for purchases at SM Stores nationwide.
In a social media post, the central bank said the amount covers 299,457 transactions in 25 CoDMs.
These transactions mean the BSP was able to recover 326.188 million idle coins in various denominations in circulation.
“This will make it more convenient for Filipinos to deposit their idle coins, helping recirculate them back into the economy while promoting cashless transactions,” BSP said in a statement.
Through the CoDM project, the BSP aims to address the “artificial coin shortage” in certain areas of the country and ensure that only fit and legal tender currency is available to the public.
The Bangko Sentral deployed the machines in retail outlets across the Greater Manila Area. The goal was to encourage the public to turn idle coins into spending money and promote coin recirculation.
From 25 machines currently in place, BSP earlier said it will expand the project by installing 25 more CoDMs nationwide this year.
The BSP is yet to announce the additional locations for the new machines.
Additional CoDMs will let more people access the machines, and reach more communities across all regions, the BSP said.
Currently, CoDMs can be found in select Robinsons Place malls, Festival Mall in Muntinlupa City, as well as in select SM Malls.
