Cash sent home by overseas Filipinos reached $3.17 billion in October, the highest in three months, driven by frontloaded Christmas spending, the stronger United States (US)-peso exchange rate, and increased deployments abroad.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), total cash remittances in October were three percent higher than the $3.08 billion recorded in October last year. It was the highest volume in three months since the $3.18 billion in July.

Cumulative cash remittances as of end-October increased by 3.2 percent to $29.2 billion from $28.3 billion in the same period last year. Notably, year-to-date remittances also reached the largest year-to-date figure since 2022.

This is equivalent to 82.3 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 will grow by three percent to $36.6 billion next year. These projections reflect a rosier outlook for remittances.

Cash remittances as of end-October were predominantly from the US, accounting for 40.3 percent of the total, followed by Singapore at 7.2 percent, Saudi Arabia at 6.4 percent, Japan at 4.9 percent, and the United Kingdom (UK) at 4.7 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.

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 remittances increased by three percent to $3.52 billion in October from $3.42 billion a year earlier.

Year-to-date, personal remittances also climbed by 3.2 percent to $32.49 billion from $31.49 billion a year ago.

SM Investments Corp. Group Economist Robert Dan Roces said the three-month-high remittances in October were driven by “pre-holiday front-loading as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) begin their Christmas spending surge, stronger deployment numbers particularly in Middle East and European markets, and favorable exchange rates that incentivize sending funds home now.”

Roces explained that the increase in remittances translates to “fresh purchasing power entering the economy just as the holiday season kicks off.”

To recall, the peso first plunged to its weakest-ever level in October at ₱59.13 per US dollar. The fresh all-time low stands at ₱59.22:$1, posted last week.

While this will boost private consumption, Roces noted that headwinds persist, including flood control corruption issues that “continue to erode confidence, while governance problems dampen both foreign investment and domestic entrepreneurship.”

Remittances, he said, would offer short-term support to household budgets as inflation and interest rates ease, helping lift sales at department stores, grocery chains, and electronics retailers.