Senator Grace Poe said bank depositors should not be burdened with distinguishing counterfeit bills coming from banks.
Poe made the comments after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reminded Filipinos to regularly check their banknotes for authenticity through the “feel, look, tilt.”
She said has been baffled why ATMs are dispensing fake peso bills and wants to know how the bogus money found its way into the banks’ machines.
“ATMs dispensing fake bills is unacceptable and must have no place in the banking system,” stressed Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services.
She noted that reminders by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to be alert of fake bills from ATMs are disquieting.
“The burden of distinguishing counterfeit bills emanating from banks from genuine ones should not be placed on depositors,” she emphasized.
As keepers of the people’s money, she said banks must at all times ensure state-of-the-art defenses against security breaches.
“It is our financial institutions that carry the responsibility to steadfastly guard against vulnerabilities and keenly upgrade their systems amidst the changing times to keep our people’s unflinching trust in the banking industry,” Poe further said.