THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has announced a 3.3% increase in personal remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in August.
According to the BSP’s latest data, remittances reached USD3.2 billion in August, up from USD3.1 billion in the same month last year. This growth is attributed to higher remittances from both land-based workers with contracts of one year or more, and sea- and land-based workers with shorter contracts.
Personal remittances encompass cash sent through banks, informal channels, and remittances in kind. Of the total, cash remittances sent through banks reached USD2.89 billion, reflecting a 3.2% increase from USD2.80 billion in August 2023.
From January to August, personal remittances rose by 3% to USD24.74 billion, compared to USD24.01 billion during the same period last year. Cash remittances during this timeframe totaled USD22.22 billion, marking a 2.9% increase from USD 21.58billion in 2023.
The BSP noted that the increase was largely driven by remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore. The U.S. continued to be the top source of remittances, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
