THE circular from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) limiting businesses’ daily cash transactions to P500,000 has been revised after a meeting last week with Finance Secretary Frederick Go, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said on Tuesday.
The group had raised concerns that BSP Circular 1218, issued on Sept. 18, 2025, disrupted legitimate cash flows of micro and small enterprises.
Under the circular, transactions above P500,000.00 (or its equivalent in foreign currency) must be conducted through traceable channels such as checks, online fund transfers, direct credit to deposit accounts or digital payments.
On Feb. 6, a day after the PCCI met with Go to thresh out the problem, the BSP issued Memorandum M-2026, clarifying that bank clients need only to submit supporting documents once, to verify the legitimacy of their transactions.
The memo also ordered banks to conduct enhanced due diligence once per customer for cash withdrawals over P500,000 and not per transaction to avoid delays.
Banks may also employ a due diligence process tailored to a customer’s risk profile, nature of business and transaction patterns. This can be applied to their other transactions like inter-branch or interbank cash requirements or loan disbursements, the BSP memo said.
“The speed with which Secretary Go acted provided immediate relief to businesses, especially micro and small enterprises that remain heavily reliant on cash transactions,” PCCI President Perry Ferrer said in a statement.
The PCCI also commended the government’s decision to retain Go as economic czar and chairman of the Economic Development Committee, which would streamline investment promotion, strengthen competitiveness and attract more investments.
“[It] sends a strong signal that the government is serious about improving efficiency and reducing bureaucratic red tape,” Ferrer said.
