Pinoys abroad’s personal remittances hit $3.34B in September

The total amount of money and goods or commodities sent back home by Filipinos abroad hit over $3 billion in September amid a seasonal surge in money transfers in view of the “ber months” holiday season.

Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that personal remittances —the sum of transfers sent in both cash and in kind— stood at $3.34 billion, up 3.3% from $3.23 billion recorded in September 2023.

The central bank said the growth in personal remittances in September this year 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.

In an emailed commentary, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said that the increase in remittances during the period was “view of the expected seasonal surge in OFW remittances and conversion to pesos during the Christmas and New Year holiday season in December, the biggest spending by consumers/households in a typical year.”

September’s figures brought the year-to-date personal remittances to stand at $28.07 billion, up 3% from $27.24 billion seen in January to September 2023.

Of the $3.34-billion personal remittances, the total cash remittances —or cash transfers which coursed through formal channels or the banking system— reached $3.01 billion, up 3.3% from $2.91 billion year-on-year.

“The growth in cash remittances in September 2024 was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said.

The January to September cash remittances amounted to $25.23 billion, up 3% from $24.49 billion recorded in the first nine months of 2023.

“The growth in cash remittances from the United States (US), Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in January-September 2024,” the BSP said.

“Meanwhile, in terms of country sources, the US accounted for the largest share of overall cash remittances in January-September 2024, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia,” the central bank added.

—VAL, GMA Integrated News