Currency of the Philippines: history, exchange rate against the ruble and the dollar, exchange

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

When visiting the Philippine Republic, you should familiarize yourself in detail not only with its culture and laws, but also with the financial side.

The official currency of the Philippines today is the Philippine peso (piso), which consists of 100 centavos (sometimes called centimos).

Historical Brief

Officially, this monetary unit began to be used in the Philippines on May 1, 1852. On this day, the country acquired its own national currency, and earlier Spanish reals and Mexican pesos were in use on its territory.

Since 1949, the Central Bank of the Republic of the Philippines, a specially created financial structure of the country, has been responsible for issuing state banknotes.

Designation. Banknotes and coins

The currency of the Philippines has an international designation code - PHP. In some cases, it may be denoted by a simple letter P of the Latin alphabet. The Philippine peso has a specially designed "P" symbol with two lines (₱) crossing it. An image with one transverse strip is also acceptable. The sign of this currency is usually placed in front of the digital designation of the amount, for example: ₱2, 000 - two thousandpesos, ₱100 - one hundred pesos. When using the centavo sign (c), it is placed after the number (15c - fifteen centavos).

To date, the Philippine peso is used in two editions: old and new. Their differences are that the later version does not contain denominations of 10 and 5 pesos, the rest of the banknotes have the same value (20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000). The format of the modern peso is 160 × 66 mm. There are several modifications to almost every one of them. On the money of the new version, the autographs of the President of the Philippine Republic Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Rafael Buenaventura, who holds the post of head of the Central Bank of the country, flaunt.

In addition to paper money, there are metal coins in denominations of 10, 5 and 1 pesos, as well as five, ten and twenty-five centimos.

Interesting facts

1. The 5 centavo coin has a small hole in the center.
2. Notes of 5 and 10 pesos have been issued for quite a long time, but are in use (about the same as Russian 10 rubles). They are very much appreciated by numismatists from all over the world, so if you get such a banknote, you can keep it as a souvenir.
3. The Philippine Islands rarely use large banknotes. This is due to the mass poverty of the population, so when paying with banknotes more than 100 pesos, there may be problems with issuing change.
4. There is a 2000 piso commemorative banknote dedicated to the centenary of the first republic. Issued in 1998. It is significantly larger than the standard currency. Philippines. Its format is 216x133 mm.
5. In the same year, an extremely large banknote of 100 thousand pesos and dimensions of 216 × 356 mm was issued. It is so huge that it was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest paper bill in history.

Exchange transactions

It is undesirable to go to the Philippines with only Russian rubles. Despite the fact that now the situation with the exchange of the Russian currency has become somewhat better than a few years ago, there are still very few points that are ready to work with it. Even if you are lucky enough to find such a place, the exchange rate of the Philippine peso to the ruble will be truly extortionate.

Reverse situation with the European currency and US dollars. They can be exchanged almost everywhere, any bank can easily change this money. The banknotes of some other countries can also be changed, but their list is not too large.

The US dollar is the currency with which the Philippines works with the greatest willingness. Moreover, banknotes of large denominations are considered more attractive. Their exchange is carried out at a favorable rate. Therefore, it makes sense to leave small bills for tips to facilitate payment for services and goods, and exchange large money for local currency.

Where can I exchange Philippine pesos for any other money? Depending on the remoteness of the place from the capital of the country, the benefits of the operation will vary. The further the exchange office is from Manila, the less attractiveconditions.

Today, the peso exchange rate to the ruble is approximately 1.15 rubles for one Philippine peso. Against the dollar, respectively, about ₱0.02.

Acute problems with currency exchange should not arise, because in any settlement with a large concentration of tourists there are a huge number of points carrying out currency exchange operations.

Credits and plastic cards

In the country it is best to use cash, although the use of electronic money from a card is also possible. In this way, you can easily pay in large shops, hotels and other institutions in the capital of the island state. There are also ATMs where you can withdraw cash. In the city of Sabang, some ATMs even have a Russian-language menu. Transaction limits can be ten or five thousand pesos.

Some hotels in Manila and other tourist cities may temporarily block a fairly large amount of money if payment is made with a plastic card. This is a kind of deposit. Refunds to a bank account occur after 45 days. Because of this, it is easier to pay by cashing in advance at the nearest ATM.

Conclusion

The currency of the Philippines is very peculiar, there are quite a few nuances and features associated with its use and exchange. It should be borne in mind that the most popular foreign currency in the Philippine Islands is the American dollar, which can be easily and profitablyexchange anywhere. Problems may arise with other currencies, since not everyone is ready to work with them.