Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — You've got six more working days to gather your old peso bills and get them exchanged for new ones before Jan. 1, 2017.

From the new year, "old"-generation peso bills will be demonetized, said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This means these will be worthless and cannot be used in transactions. These old notes will also not be accepted by banks.

Read: What you need to know about BSP's demonetization

The "new" generation bills will be the sole-accepted banknote series. The scheme is part of the BSP's demonetization program to safeguard the integrity of the peso and safeguard it from counterfeiters.

Read: Counterfeiting: Reason behind demonetization – BSP official

The BSP began its demonetization program in 2010 with the launch of new banknotes. These have updated security features, designs and colors.

The old-generation bills have been barred from use in regular transactions since Jan. 1, 2016, but the BSP said these can be exchanged at authorized banks and BSP offices until the end of the year.

Here a few distinguishing features of the new and old banknote series.

New banknote series:

Features new BSP logo

6 denominations (20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000)

Security thread is wider

Bears a serial number composed of 1 or 2 prefix letters and 6 to 7 digits which are increasing in size

The reverse side of the new notes features iconic natural wonders and species that can be found in the country

Old banknote series:

Features old BSP logo

8 denominations (5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000)

Security thread is thinner

Bears a serial number composed of 1 or 2 prefix letters and 6 to 7 digits which are uniform in size

The reverse side of the old notes features significant events in Philippine history, iconic buildings and heritage sites

A new set of coins is also in the works, the BSP also revealed. The new coins, which could be in circulation by 2019, will sport new designs and an electronic magnetic signature safety feature to prevent counterfeits.