BSP: Remittances continue climb, up 3.2% in Sept

Money sent home by Filipinos overseas grew 3.2 percent in September, the same pace seen in August and the second-fastest so far this year.

Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday showed that remittances reached $3.34 billion during the month, higher than the $3.23 billion seen in September of 2023.

“The expansion in personal remittances in September 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 country’s central bank said in a statement.

The latest posting brought the total amount of remittances from January to September to $28.07 billion, marking a 3-percent growth from the $27.24 billion in the same nine-month period last year.

Main contributors

BSP data also showed that remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates were the main contributors during the period.

The United States accounted for the largest share of overall cash remittances during the month, with a 41.3-percent share. It was followed by Singapore’s 7 percent, Saudi Arabia’ 6.2 percent, Japan’s 4.9 percent, and the United Kingdom’s 4.8 percent.

Of the personal remittances, cash remittances coursed through banks reached $3.01 billion, registering a 3.3-percent increase from the $2.91 billion in September 2023.

The influx of cash remittances during the month brought the year-to-date amount to $25.23 billion, marking a 3-percent growth from the $24.49 billion tallied from January to September 2023.

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In a commentary, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort characterized the continued growth as a “good signal” and a “bright spot” for the country’s overall economy.

Remittances were an important growth driver, especially in terms of consumer spending, which he said accounts for at least 70 percent of the Philippine economy.

“Philippine remittances from overseas workers have consistently been the fourth largest in the world after India, Mexico and China, amounting to more than $40 billion per year, a sign of resilience and has always been a bright spot [and] major growth driver for the Philippine economy for many years,” Ricafort said.