Overseas remittances rise 4% in June on faster land-based fund inflows
By Derco Rosal
Cash sent home by Filipinos working and living overseas continued to increase in June on the back of faster inflows from land-based workers, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The latest BSP data released on Friday, Aug. 15, showed that overall remittances increased by 3.7 percent to $2.99 billion during the month from $2.88 billion in the same month last year. Of these, remittances from land-based overseas Filipinos (OFs) were faster than fund transfers from sea-based OFs.
Land-based OFs remitted $2.43 billion in June, making up 81.3 percent of total cash remittances that month.
Meanwhile, sea-based workers contributed the remaining $555 million.
Remittances from land-based workers climbed by a faster 3.7 percent year-on-year, while those from sea-based OFs grew 3.5 percent.
Cash remittances from January to June increased by 3.1 to $16.75 billion from the $16.25 billion posted in the first half of 2024.
For the first semester, cash remittances were predominantly from the United States (US), accounting for 40.1 percent of total; followed by Singapore, 7.1 percent; Saudi Arabia, 6.2 percent; and Japan, five percent.
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.
Personal remittances, or the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind through informal channels, also increased by 3.7 percent to $3.33 billion in June from $3.21 billion a year earlier. The higher increase in these remittances was also driven by the growth in cash remittances.
Year-to-date personal remittances also climbed by 3.1 percent to $18.67 billion from the $18.1 billion registered in the first half of 2024.