In compliance with international conventions against money-laundering, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP, Central Bank of the Philippines) has regulations on the amount of currency that a traveler can carry into or out of the Philippines.

Philippine Peso

A person may bring into (import) or take out of (export) the Philippines, either physically or by electronical transfer, legal tender Philippine currency of an amount not exceeding PHP 50,000 (fifty thousand pesos, Philippine currency) without prior authorization from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.  The monetary forms include legal tender Philippine notes and coins, checks, money order and other bills of exchange drawn in Philippine Pesos against banks operating in the Philippines.

The term “electronic transfer” as used above shall mean a system where the authority to debit or credit an account (bank, business or individual) is provided by wire, with or without a source document being mailed to evidence the authority.

The increase to PHP 50,000 in the allowable amount of Philippine currency brought in or out of the Philippines took effect on 15 September 2016, per Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular No. 922, series of 2016, dated 23 August 2016, titled “The Amendments of the Rules on Cross-Border Transfer of Local Currency”.

Amounts exceeding the limit are usually allowed only for the following purposes:

1. Testing/calibration of money counting/sorting machines;
2. Numismatics (collectors of currency); and,
3. Educational purposes.

International Passenger Service Charge (IPSC) for exempt passengers is not included in computing the amount of pesos brought to or from the Philippines. Any excess amount not covered by specific written BSP authorization is subject to confiscation by the Philippine Bureau of Customs.

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Foreign Currency and/or Monetary Instrument in Excess of USD 10,000.00 or its equivalent

Any person bringing in or taking out foreign currency, or other exchange-dominated bearer negotiable monetary such as travelers’ checks, other checks, drafts, notes, money orders, bonds, deposit certificates, securities, commercial papers, trust certificates, custodial receipts, deposit substitute instruments, trading orders, transaction tickets and confirmation of sale/investment in excess of USD 10,000.00 or its equivalent in other foreign currencies must accomplish a Foreign Currency Declaration Form which may be obtained from a Customs Officer at the Customs Desk in the Arrival or Departure Areas, or downloaded from the BSP website www.bsp.gov.ph Annex K of the Manual Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions. (BSP Circular No.308, Series of 2001, as amended by BSP Circular No.507, Series of 2006)

Manual of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions

A copy of the Manual of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions may be downloaded here or accessed via the BSP website: https://www.bsp.gov.ph/Regulations/MORFXT/MORFXT.pdf.