Cash sent home by overseas Filipinos slipped to $2.98 billion in August from July’s seven-month peak, but the seasonal remittance surge in the fourth quarter is expected to lift inflows for the rest of the year.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), total cash remittances in August were 3.2 percent higher than the $2.89 billion in August last year.

“This developed on account of higher inflows from both land-based and sea-based workers,” the BSP said in an Oct. 15 statement.

Fund transfers from land-based overseas Filipinos (OFs), which accounted for the bulk or $2.35 billion during the month, increased by three percent from August 2024. Cash remittances from sea-based OFs accounted for $626 million. It went up by 3.8 percent.

As of end-August, cumulative cash remittances increased by 3.1 percent to $22.91 billion from $22.22 billion in the same period last year. Notably, the year-to-date remittances also emerged as the largest in year-to-date figures since 2022.

This is equivalent to 64.5 percent of the central bank’s full-year remittance growth forecast of $35.5 billion this year.

As of the third quarter of 2025, the BSP projected cash remittances to expand by three percent this year from $34.5 billion in cash remittances a year ago. It also forecasts remittances to grow by three percent to $36.6 billion next year. These projections reflect a rosier outlook for remittances.

As of end-August, cash remittances were predominantly from the United States (US), accounting for 40.4 percent of total; followed by Singapore, 7.1 percent; Saudi Arabia, 6.3 percent; Japan, 4.9 percent; and United Kingdom (UK), 4.8 percent.

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.

According to the BSP, higher cash remittances were also a key driver of the increase in personal remittances. These include “cash sent through banks and informal channels, along with remittances in kind.”

Personal remittance increased by 3.2 percent to $3.31 billion in August from $3.20 billion a year earlier.

Year-to-date, personal remittances also climbed by 3.1 percent to $25.51 billion from $24.74 billion a year ago.

SM Investments Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan Roces said the modest increase seen in August “suggests that remittance flows have some resilience despite global headwinds, and reflects, in part, a lower comparative base or mild fluctuations in monthly flows.”

Roces noted that a weaker peso and a downbeat expectation of it typically boosts remittances in US dollars because “recipients gain more local-currency value.”

Looking ahead, he expects seasonal gains during the last quarter to support figures for the rest of the year.