As the Philippines enjoys among the lowest remittance fees, this year's growth of money sent back home by Filipinos working and living overseas will rebound to outpace last year's slowdown, according to the World Bank.

In its Migration and Development Brief 40 titled "Remittances Slowed in 2023, Expected to Grow Faster in 2024," the Washington-based multilateral lender forecasted remittance flows to the Philippines to grow by about three percent yearly to $40 billion this year and $41 billion next year.

Cash remittances to the Philippines, which corner nearly half of the flows to the East Asia and Pacific region excluding China, grew 2.8 percent year-on-date to $10.78 billion as of end-April, the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.

In 2023, remittances from Filipinos abroad increased by 2.8 percent to $39 billion—a "muted" pace than the 3.7-percent growth rate in 2022, the World Bank noted in the report published on June 26.

"Tourism recovered to pre-pandemic levels in the Philippines, giving Filipinos domestic employment opportunities as an alternative to emigration, which dampened remittance growth" last year, the World Bank explained.

Despite the slower pace of last year's increase, "the sustained growth in remittance flows to the Philippines was an outcome of a well-diversified set of host destinations across the world," the lender nonetheless said.

In particular, the fees for sending money to the Philippines from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Malaysia were among the least expensive corridors in the region.

As such, the Philippines remained among the world's top remittance recipient countries in 2023, only exceeded by India’s estimated $120 billion inflows, Mexico's $66 billion, and China's $50 billion.

The 1.8-percent growth in remittance flows to the East Asia and Pacific region last year was supported by the Philippines, the World Bank noted.

Moving forward, "dissipating inflationary pressures and interest rates, and enduring strength in the labor markets of the OECD countries, are expected to sustain remittance flows to the East Asia and Pacific region," the World Bank said.

"The positive outlook for oil prices will support remittance growth from the GCC countries," the World Bank added, referring to oil-producing Middle Eastern nations that host millions of Filipino workers.

However, the World Bank flagged downside risks to the regional remittance outlook, including China's slowing economic growth that can spill over to the region and negatively affect demand for workers from other East Asian countries; the risk of global conflict which disrupt global supply chains and can dampen demand for East Asian migrant workers; curtailed supply of skilled migrants amid an aging population in the region; and new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), which may restrict demand for technically skilled workers from East Asia.