BSP limits bank cash withdrawals to P500,000 daily

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) (Photo By patrickroque01/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Anna Leah Gonzales, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued a circular limiting the value of large cash transactions to PHP500,000 per banking day to reduce money laundering and other risks linked to the use of cash.

Under Circular No. 1218 series of 2025 issued Sept. 18, large value transactions above PHP500,000 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.

The same limit applies to cash transactions in equivalent foreign currencies.

The limit may be reached in a single transaction or series of transactions within one banking day.

For withdrawals beyond this limit, the BSP said Supervised Financial Institutions (BSFIs) must conduct enhanced due diligence (EDD) and, if warranted, file a suspicious transaction report.

After completing EDD, the BSP said BSFIs may still allow the larger payout if the customer provides additional documents or proof of a legitimate business purpose.

The BSP also allows BSFIs to set even lower limits on large value cash transactions, based on their risk assessment and the customer’s financial profile.

“Through this reform, the BSP aims to strengthen measures against the use of cash for illegal activities, promote trust in the financial system, and ensure that it can respond to new risks,” the central bank said.