Remittance inflows, which dipped to their lowest since May 2025 at $2.66 billion, reflect a continued easing following the year-end holiday surge in 2025.

The latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released on Wednesday, April 15, showed that while the February figure represents a 2.6-percent increase compared with the $2.72 billion recorded in the same month last year, it slowed from the $3.02 billion seen in the previous month.

During the month, land-based workers contributed $2.25 billion to the total, a 2.7-percent year-on-year increase, while sea-based workers contributed $530 million, representing two-percent growth.

Personal remittances—a broader category including informal channels and remittances in kind—reached $3.1 billion in February, up 2.6 percent from $3.02 billion in the same month last year.

For the first two months, cash remittances increased by 3.1 percent to $5.81 billion from $5.63 billion in the same period last year.

These 2026 figures follow a record-breaking performance in 2025, when holiday spending and year-end bonuses pushed annual cash inflows to an all-time high of $35.63 billion, slightly exceeding the central bank’s $35.5-billion forecast.

During the two-month period, the United States (US) remained the primary source of cash remittances, accounting for two-fifths of total. This was followed by Singapore (7.6 percent), Saudi Arabia (6.1 percent), Japan (5.3 percent), and the United Kingdom (UK) at 4.7 percent.

Cumulative personal remittances from January to February reached $6.46 billion, a 3.1-percent increase over the $6.27 billion recorded in early 2025.

According to the BSP, the US’ dominance as a source is partly due to the use of US-based correspondent banks by money transfer centers and the fact that many money couriers are headquartered there.

Consequently, banks often attribute the origin of funds to the most immediate source rather than the actual country of origin.

Being an economic growth engine, cash remittances accounted for 7.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025, a slight decline from 7.5 percent in 2024 and 7.7 percent in 2023.

For this year, the BSP forecasts cash remittances to reach $36.7 billion, representing a three-percent growth rate from the actual 2025 figure. However, this is seen easing from the actual growth seen last year of 3.3 percent.

“Cash remittances remain a key source of external stability... despite geopolitical tensions, as there remain no signs of mass repatriation or widespread deployment bans,” the BSP earlier said.

Similarly, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects private consumption to expand moderately in 2026, as remittance inflows are expected to remain steady.

“Remittances have been fairly resilient during past shocks, and in some years have even proven to be counter-cyclical. That is, more remittances tend to be sent during crises. However, if this crisis becomes prolonged, even remittances could become highly vulnerable,” ADB principal economics officer Teresa Mendoza said last week.

Mendoza noted that while inflows have been steady early this year, a prolonged conflict could hurt remittances, as around 17 percent of inflows come from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).