Published July 6, 2021, 8:00 AM To ensure adequate supply of physical money during the pandemic, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) outsourced 62.2 percent of banknotes from foreign printers last year, printing only 34.7 percent locally, according to a BSP report. This is in contrast to what is considered “normal times” when BSP will print most of the country’s banknotes requirements. In 2019 it produced 65.7 percent of banknotes and only outsourced 34.3 percent. The BSP outsource currency printing as a temporary stop-gap measure to meet surges in currency demand such as in the 1,000-piso and 500-piso. Last year, when the COVID-19 health crisis forced its Security Plant Complex (SPC) in Quezon City to implement reduced workforce as part of health protocols, it had to outsource most of its banknotes.