Counterfeiting remains a significant concern in the country, with the Philippine peso ranking as the sixth most counterfeited currency worldwide.

A study by BestBrokers, a market information provider, found that over 59,000 fake Philippine peso bills were seized as of June 2021. With an estimated P4.3 billion in circulation in 2023, that translates to 14 counterfeit bills per million genuine notes.

To address this issue, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has implemented a robust anti-counterfeiting strategy. Since 2010, the BSP has confiscated over P35 million in fake banknotes and filed 194 counterfeiting cases, achieving a conviction rate of 97.4%. In 2023 alone, it conducted 11 operations, leading to the arrest of 19 suspects and the filing of 25 criminal charges.

The Philippines’ efforts to combat counterfeit money stand out worldwide. Counterfeiting in the country carries severe penalties, including up to 10 years in prison and fines.

Globally, the U.S. dollar is the most counterfeited currency, with an estimated 905,000 fake bills detected in 2023. Although the U.S. Secret Service does not release detailed figures for security reasons, the study estimates 17 counterfeit bills per million genuine notes in circulation.

Following the U.S. dollar, the most counterfeited currencies include the euro, Mexican peso, Indian rupee, and British pound. Other currencies on the list include the Canadian dollar, Russian ruble, Hong Kong dollar, and Australian dollar.

The BestBrokers study also ranked the most secure currencies, based on the number of security features on commonly used notes.

The BestBrokers study also ranked the world’s most secure currencies based on the number of security features on commonly used notes. The Swiss franc topped the list, with its 100-franc note from 2019 featuring 20 security elements, such as holograms, microprints, and a see-through register.

The 50,000-denomination of the Indonesian rupiah, 50-value euro bill, 50-value Australian dollar, and 200-unit Polish złoty followed in the ranking.

Other security features for bank notes include watermarks, tactile features, color-shifting ink, ultraviolet (UV) elements, security threads, see through elements, latent or hidden images, and holograms.