Are One hundred dollar bills without digital codes accepted?

[Pelican]

I've hoarded cash over the years, and wish to make the best use of them, now.  I hope this is not a serious problem.  (I once believed 'Travelers-Checks' meant what they said, but found they were not accepted by anyone.)  I need sensible advice so no new tragedy occurs.  I possess old, hundred dollar bills without the modern digital codes on them.  Do I use a money exchange, or must I, and can I, deposit then into a Philippine bank.  Would the bank delay, or hesitate authenticating approval?   

[BudM]

I've hoarded cash over the years, and wish to make the best use of them, now.  I hope this is not a serious problem.  (I once believed 'Travelers-Checks' meant what they said, but found they were not accepted by anyone.)  I need sensible advice so no new tragedy occurs.  I possess old, hundred dollar bills without the modern digital codes on them.  Do I use a money exchange, or must I, and can I, deposit then into a Philippine bank.  Would the bank delay, or hesitate authenticating approval?   

I am not sure, but I think any USD bill older than a certain series, you might have a problem with as far as using them in the Philippines.  I think I remember some time a few years ago, I had a 2002 or 3 series or maybe something like that or older and the ex-changers turned it down.  I finally got rid of it though and don't remember exactly how but I think I got my bank to take it by depositing it in my USD account.  The place I will take USD from is my bank and I check all notes and see what they are giving me.  Same thing if counterfeit.  There is only one place I get my USD from so if I get a counterfeit or a note too old, I know where it came from and on the back of the withdrawal slip that the bank has, the teller has listed the notes she gave me by serial number of which I initialed off on receiving.   So, that being said, you might want to give a bank a call and ask them about it.  Get it from the horse's mouth.

[jjcabgou]

You "hoard" one hundred dollar bills and are asking advice on a public forum as to what to do with them?   Scratching my head as my questions pop into my small cranium 

[Lee2]

I wish someone would have a guaranteed answer for you but I doubt anyone will. My best guess is if they are crisp with no damages then there is likely places that will take them, I know that I had deposited some a couple of years ago but everything changes all the time in the Philippines and can be different from bank to bank of the same brand and even money changer to money changer, so there is never a guarantee, one thing I can tell you is that it can be a problem carrying more than U.S. $10,000 in cash into the Philippines without declaring it and declaring it brings up all types of other issues that could arise.

Also if you do not have an account here then banks will not take your bills since they even hold cash deposited for one week to make sure none are counterfeit.

One thing I know for sure is that whenever I or friends have withdrawn $100 bills from banks in Cebu, they are always the new crisp bills. One time recently I tried to deposit a few thousand dollars in brand new bills and the bank rejected a few bills saying they had a damage on the corners, I could only see the damage under a magnifying glass when I got home but I learned a long time ago that arguing here is likely useless, so I took it to a money changer and they took it.

You can call a money changer we used in the past that is in Robinson's, to call Cebu Philippines from the U.S. is 011 63 32 then 255 8992 is the number of that money changer and the owner is Loy if it is a large amount then talk to her, and another big one here that is popular in Ayala is Core Pacific  415 5263, make sure you know who you spoke to if they say yes and tell them the year the bills were made to be sure they understand what they are.

[jjcabgou]

ok I am being an "ass", but I am still a little baffled as to why an adult would have to ask what to do with their money.   Unless an individual does not understand what a bank is, or money exchange services, and has no ability to do a search on the internet.    Or why hoard 100 dollar bills in your home?   If you live in the Philippines then you can have a bank account, why not just have deposited them in your account? 
Instead of asking here, why not just take a hundred dollar bill to the bank and try to exchange it, or to a local western union or to a ...?   If they refuse, they are not going to confiscate your money.     
The question is just somewhat bizarre to me 

[Lee2]

ok I am being an "ass", but I am still a little baffled as to why an adult would have to ask what to do with their money.   Unless an individual does not understand what a bank is, or money exchange services, and has no ability to do a search on the internet.    Or why hoard 100 dollar bills in your home?   If you live in the Philippines then you can have a bank account, why not just have deposited them in your account? 
Instead of asking here, why not just take a hundred dollar bill to the bank and try to exchange it, or to a local western union or to a ...?   If they refuse, they are not going to confiscate your money.     
The question is just somewhat bizarre to me 

You already made that point with your first post, with interest rates so low and many people not trusting the stock market, lots of people nowadays hold onto cash, I know that when I ran a gun and pawn shop years ago, I always had tons of cash around, so maybe the op is in some type of business or does not trust banks, it is not really for us to judge, it is for us to try to help people who wish to visit, move to or already live in the Philippines, well that is what I do my best to do but I often fail.

[suzukig1]

Reason for holding cash at home:

After a major earthquake banks could be offline for weeks.  Also, any connection for credit cards, ewallets, etc.

Have enough cash for at least 2 weeks but 4 weeks would be better.

For water, food and hospital needs those with cash will get preference over those without cash.

[nerd4444]

search united states dollar without digital codes or other. start with google.

hundreds of financial sites with recs what do do with money.

[jjcabgou]

Reason for holding cash at home:

After a major earthquake banks could be offline for weeks.  Also, any connection for credit cards, ewallets, etc.

Have enough cash for at least 2 weeks but 4 weeks would be better.

For water, food and hospital needs those with cash will get preference over those without cash.

Agreed we should have have a contingency plan for an apocalyptic event.

[BudM]

I think I will take the precaution and hoard some 100 dollar bills.  Not going to keep them at home though as I don't want to keep too much loose cash around. Will put them in a little steel box and go bury them on a golf course.

[FastWalk]

I think I will take the precaution and hoard some 100 dollar bills.  Not going to keep them at home though as I don't want to keep too much loose cash around. Will put them in a little steel box and go bury them on a golf course.

going to need to make a map on how to find it later.  If you would post that map we could help to make sure it works ok.

[BudM]

going to need to make a map on how to find it later.  If you would post that map we could help to make sure it works ok.

Will do.  Do not know if it would be worth your while to go looking though.  I can only afford to hoard maybe 3 or 4 C notes.

[lost_in_samoa]

Have enough cash for at least 2 weeks but 4 weeks would be better.

This guy thinks you should have 6 months stash.  His points are pretty well reasoned out.

apocalyptic event.

Folks think that an "apocalypse" means the end of all things.  I guess we get that impression from Hollywood.

California sliding off into the Pacific, (if only we could be so lucky).  Zombies. Plague.

Please consider that the "end of the world" can be a very personal event.  Affecting just one family. 

Look at what happened in Zimbabwe.  What is happening in Venezuela.  What is getting ready to happen in South Africa.  How do those families feel?

My great - grandfather lived through the "apocalypse".  Bank "absorbed" his assets in '30 then closed.  Revenuers took his considerable land holdings for unpaid taxes.  His family survived because he "stole" his own mule team and hid them in the boot-heel swamps.  He was able to produce and they did not starve.

This kinda self-inflicted disaster is not new.  Hell Rome and 56 other countries went through it. 

Whose to say America and the Western world are different ..... this time? 

Who's to say that the powers that be won't expropriate all of our assets and boot us from the country? Its happened before.

Ya know ..... if the social stigma of being prepared is just tooooo great to bear .... well think of it as a self funded, private, insurance policy.  You have health/life/car/property insurance right?  This is "Oh Sh_t" insurance.


Every time I deposit/withdraw Kano cash, the bank records each and every bill's serial number.  Going in or going out.  Have been for years.  So fretting over a magnetic stripe in the bill is kinda moot.

I'm a big fan of reading history.  Here is a fairly accurate account of how we ended up here.

[Pelican]

I have greatly appreciated responses, especially Lee 2 for his generous sensibility.  The Nerd comes in second.  (Not that this is a contest, just my salvation)  The history of finance in America since 2008 has been 'grand-theft' from every unregulated institution in my country.  I need not count them for you.    Others may have had trouble transliterating my vernacular.  So be it.  But thank you, one and all.

[BudM]

I have greatly appreciated responses, especially Lee 2 for his generous sensibility.  The Nerd comes in second.  (Not that this is a contest, just my salvation)  The history of finance in America since 2008 has been 'grand-theft' from every unregulated institution in my country.  I need not count them for you.    Others may have had trouble transliterating my vernacular.  So be it.  But thank you, one and all.

Too bad no one had a guaranteed answer for you.  Although sometimes you need to know what is going on with some other threads as to sometimes responses on the one you are on.  And yeah, sometimes it takes a little leg work of your own instead of sitting back and waiting for someone to do it for you.