TOKYO/MANILA – Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos’ (OFs) rose by 2.9 percent to US$18.10 billion in the first half of this year, up from US$17.59 billion in the same period in 2023, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
In June alone, personal remittances increased by 2.5 percent to US$3.21 billion, compared to US$3.13 billion recorded in June 2023.
The BSP attributed the growth in personal remittances to higher transfers from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more, as well as from sea- and land-based workers with contracts of less than a year.
Of the total personal remittances from OFs, cash remittances sent through banks amounted to US$2.88 billion in June, a 2.5 percent increase from the US$2.81 billion reported in the same month last year.
“The expansion in cash remittances in June 2024 was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said.
On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances grew by 2.9 percent to US$16.25 billion, up from US$15.79 billion in the first six months of 2023.
Japan and the United Kingdom rank as the fourth highest sources of remittances, following the United States, which remains the leading source, with Singapore and Saudi Arabia in second and third place, respectively. - Florenda Corpuz
