Remittance inflows hit seven-month high in July

Remittances from overseas Filipinos climbed for the third straight month in July to hit the highest level in seven months, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday showed.

Cash remittances or money transfers through banks or formal channels stood at $3.085 billion in July, up 3.1% from $2.992 billion the same month last year, and higher than the $2.882 billion in June. This is also the highest since December 2023’s $3.280 billion.

“The increase in personal remittances in July 2024 was due to higher remittances from 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 in an accompanying statement.

Inflows from land-based workers climbed by 3.6% to $2.52 billion, while those from sea-based workers climbed by 0.9% to $0.57 million.

Year-to-date cash remittances stood at $19.332 billion, reflecting a 2.9% increase from $18.765 billion in the first seven months of 2023.

“The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in January-July 2024,” the BSP said.

Personal remittances — the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind via informal channels — came in at $3.428 billion, up by 3.2% from $3.321 billion in July 2023. It is also higher than the $3.210 billion in June.

“The expansion in cash remittances in July 2024 was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers,” the central bank said.

Year-to-date personal remittances stood at $21.532 billion or 3.0% higher than the $20.911 billion the same period last year.

The United States accounted for 41.1%, Singapore with 6.9%, Saudi Arabia with 6.0%, Japan with 5.0%, the United Kingdom with 4.9%, the United Arab Emirates with 4.2%, Canada with 3.5%, Qatar with 2.8%, Taiwan with 2.7%, and South Korea with 2.7%.—AOL, GMA Integrated News