THE threshold for cash withdrawals that will trigger enhanced due diligence has been raised to P1 million from P500,000, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Tuesday.
Under BSP Circular 1230, withdrawals exceeding P1 million will require bank clients to provide information to prove that their transactions are legitimate.
The BSP said the increase followed consultations with banks and various industries that showed that a large number of cash transactions above the earlier P500,000 threshold were legitimate. These included payroll payouts, loan releases and project-based disbursements.
By adjusting the threshold for enhanced due diligence (EDD), the central bank said it was aiming to streamline routine and recurring cash transactions while maintaining safeguards against illicit activities.
“The increase also follows the results of the latest anti-money laundering National Risk Assessment and surveillance monitoring, recognizing that robust risk-based safeguards over cash transactions remain essential to protecting financial system integrity,” the BSP said.
The due diligence will be done on a per-customer basis, not per transaction, and as such should not hamper regulator transactions.
Clients with established transaction patterns should not experience repeated disruptions for each withdrawal as long as their profiles and activities are consistent with their declared business or financial background.
BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) can still impose lower thresholds if their own risk assessments warrant stricter controls.
The central bank said that this was in line with risk-based customer due diligence principles, under which banks are expected to tailor their monitoring systems according to the risk profile of their clients and transactions.
“lf the BSFI fails to satisfactorily complete the EDD procedures; or reasonably believes that performing the EDD process will tip-off the customer, it shall file a suspicious transaction report (STR) and closely monitor the account and review the business relationship,” the BSP said.
“The BSFI shall also consider the alerts, red flags and suspicious indicators, as well as typologies noted/reported by relevant government agencies, involving large or unusual cash transactions in filing STR,” it added.
The original P500,000 threshold was imposed in September 2025 to help curb money laundering and prevent the financial system from being used to facilitate illegal activities. The new circular amends Circular 1218, which set the earlier limit.
The BSP also clarified that there are no thresholds for noncash withdrawals, meaning transactions conducted through checks, electronic transfers, or other noncash channels are not covered by the enhanced due-diligence trigger.
