Cash sent home by Filipinos working and living overseas continued to increase in May on the back of sustained inflows from both land- and sea-based workers, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Money sent through banks by overseas Filipinos (OFs) increased by 2.9 percent to $2.66 billion in May from $2.58 billion in the same month last year, the BSP reported on Tuesday, July 15. This growth rate is slower compared to the 3.6-percent growth seen a year ago.

Land-based OFs remitted $2.12 billion in May, making up nearly 80 percent of total cash remittances that month. Meanwhile, sea-based workers contributed the remaining $536 million. Remittances from land-based workers climbed by 2.8 percent, while those from sea-based OFs grew by a faster 3.1 percent.

Cash remittances from January to May also increased by three percent to $13.77 billion from the $13.37 billion posted in the same period last year.

At end-May, remittances from land-based OFs rose 3.3 percent year-on-year to $10.94 billion, while sea-based workers remitted $2.82 billion, up two percent.

For the five-month period, cash remittances were predominantly from the United States (US), accounting for 40.2 percent of total, followed by Singapore at 7.4 percent, Saudi Arabia at 6.4 percent, and Japan at five percent, the BSP noted.

Remittances from these countries were the drivers of the overall increase during the period.

Several money transfer centers in countries abroad send money through partner banks, known as correspondent banks, most of which are based in the US, the central bank noted.

It added that remittances sent through money couriers are recorded under the country where their main offices are based—often the US—rather than the actual country of origin.

“Therefore, the US would appear to be the main source of OF remittances because banks attribute the origin of funds to the most immediate source,” the BSP explained.

Additionally, the year-on-year rise in cash remittances was the main contributor to the increase in personal remittances, the BSP said.

Personal remittances, or the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind through informal channels, also increased by three percent to $2.97 billion in May from $2.88 billion a year earlier.

Year-to-date personal remittances also climbed by three percent to $15.34 billion from the $14.89 billion registered in the January-to-May period last year.

While remittances growth was slower in May, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said the sustained single-digit growth remains a positive indicator for the economy, particularly in bolstering consumer spending. Private consumption accounts for about 75 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

He noted, however, that the US’ 3.5-percent tax on remittances by non-residents in the US under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by US President Donald Trump recently “could add to the remittance costs of OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] sending money to the Philippines, [which] could correspondingly slow down the OFW remittance sent and, as a result, slowing the spending of OFWs and their families.”

The BSP had projected OF cash remittances to increase to $35.5 billion this year from $34.5 billion last year.