March remittance growth slowest in nearly three years

MONEY sent home by Filipinos abroad rose by year on year 2.3% in March, the slowest growth seen in nearly three years, according to preliminary Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data.

Cash remittances, or money coursed through banks by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), grew by 2.3% to $2.874 billion in March from $2.81 billion a year ago, the central bank reported on Friday.

This was the smallest increase in two years and nine months or since the 2.2% growth in June 2023.

Month on month, cash remittances climbed by 3.2% from $2.786 billion in February.

Land-based OFWs sent home the bulk of remittances during the month at $2.26 billion, which was up by 2.2% year on year from $2.22 billion.

Sea-based workers accounted for the remaining $610 million remitted in March, 2.5% higher than the $590 million recorded in the same month last year.

Personal remittances likewise increased by 2.3% to $3.203 billion in the same month from $3.13 billion a year earlier. These include both cash coursed through banks and informal channels as well as in-kind remittances.

FIRST QUARTER
For the first quarter, cash remittances stood at $8.68 billion, up 2.8% year on year from $8.444 billion.

OFWs in the United States continued to send the most money to the Philippines in the period, accounting for 39.9% of total cash remittances.

This was followed by Singapore (7.6%), Saudi Arabia (6.3%), Japan (5%), the United Arab Emirates (4.7%), the United Kingdom (4.3%), Canada (3%), Qatar (2.9%), Taiwan (2.9%) and Hong Kong (2.7%).

BSP data showed that $6.93 billion of cash sent home in the first quarter came from land-based migrant workers. This was 2.8% higher than $6.74 billion in the same period last year.

Sea-based OFWs’ cash remittances also went up by 2.7% to $1.75 billion from $1.7 billion.

Meanwhile, personal remittances amounted to $9.664 billion during the period, growing by 2.8% from $9.397 billion previously.

Cash remittances made up 7.2% of the country’s gross domestic product in the first quarter, steady from the year-ago ratio, while personal remittances accounted for 8.2%, edging down from 8.3% previously.

The central bank sees cash remittances growing by a slower 3% to $36.7 billion this year from the 3.3% annual increase seen in 2025 (to $35.6 billion). — Katherine K. Chan