For the first time, the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) has picked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to win the “Banknote of the Year” award for its P1,000 polymer bill. The BSP circulated the dirt-free, water-resistant polymer bill last April 2022. It was printed by Note Printing Australia, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia. According to its website, IBNS chose the Philippine Eagle-featured banknote among 100 other new banknotes for the 2022 award. “From the onset of voting, the Philippines’ 1000 Piso note was the overwhelming favorite,” said IBNS, adding that polymer “represents a dramatic shift from the cotton and abaca material previously used.” Highlighting the “critically endangered” Philippine Eagle which is sometimes called the monkey-eating eagle, and the holographic national flower, the Sampaguita, in the polymer front design, IBNS said the “Philippines successful design in eye-pleasing blue combines an endangered species with an environmental motif.” The back design, meanwhile, is similar to its paper-based counterpart which also featured the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), the South Sea pearl and the T'nalak weave design of the T’boli people of the Philippines. The IBNS said the 100 new banknotes design that competed was further trimmed to just 19 nominations. The close runners-up to the BSP’s P1,000 polymer were Northern Ireland’s Ulster Bank’s 50 pound note and Bank of Scotland’s 100 pound bill. Other finalists were banknotes from Algeria, Barbados and Egypt. IBNS is a global non-profit organization that recognizes exceptional banknotes issued each year on the basis of artistic merits, such as design and use of colors, as well as high-quality security features, said the BSP in its own statement. “The BSP hopes that the design of the polymer banknote will remind Filipinos of the importance of environmental preservation and the need to ensure a sustainable future for all,” the central bank said on Thursday, May 4. Last January, the BSP said about 92 percent of all automated teller machines or about 17,304 ATMs across the country, are now dispensing polymer banknotes as of end-December 2022. The polymer banknotes, which are only available in P1,000 denomination, will have a circulation of 500 million pieces this year, of which around 39 million was released last year. The BSP is gradually releasing the polymer banknotes to allow banks and the public time to get used to plastic-based bills. It will also allow the BSP time to assess the benefits and costs associated with a shift to polymer.