BSP: Overseas Filipinos’ cash remittances hit seven-month high at $2.992B in July

Money sent by overseas Filipinos to the Philippines continued its uptrend in July, marking its highest in seven months, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday showed.

Cash remittances or money transfers coursed through banks and formal channels stood at $2.992 billion, up 2.6% from $2.917 billion in July 2022 and also higher than the $2.812 billion in June this year.

This is the highest in seven months or since the $3.159-billion recorded in December 2022.

“The expansion in cash remittances in July 2023 was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said.

Year-to-date cash remittances grew by 2.9% to $18.79 billion from $18.26 billion registered in the same period last year.

“The growth in cash remittances from the United States (US), Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first seven months of 2023,” the central bank said.

The US accounted for the highest share in remittances at 41.3%, followed by Singapore at 6.9%, Saudi Arabia at 5.9%, and Japan at 5%.

Meanwhile, personal remittances — the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind via informal channels — amounted to $3.321 billion, up 2.5% from $3.24 billion year-on-year.

“The growth in personal remittances in July 2023 was due to higher remittances sent by land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year,” the BSP said.

Year-to-date, personal remittances reached $20.91 billion in the first seven months of 2023, up 2.9 percent from $20.33 billion recorded in the same period in 2022. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News