OVERSEAS Filipinos’ cash remittances rose 3.1 percent to $19.93 billion in January to July 2025 from $19.33 billion in the first seven months of 2024, the central bank said on Monday.
For the seven-month period, growth in cash remittances stemmed from land-based workers’ remittances, which showed a 3.3 percent increase to $15.97 billion from $15.46 billion in the corresponding period in 2024. A further boost was provided by sea-based workers, who sent home $3.96 billion from January to July, up by 2.3 percent from $3.87 billion a year earlier.
For the month of July alone, cash remittances – which are coursed through the formal banking channels — grew by 3 percent to $3.18 billion from the year-earlier amount of $3.08 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
Of this amount, land-based overseas Filipinos accounted for $2.59 billion, up by 3 percent from $2.52 billion a year earlier. Sea-based workers remitted $590 million, up by 3.1 percent from $570 million.
Seasonal increase in July
Chief economist Michael Ricafort of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. said overseas Filipinos sent home higher remittances in July to cover a seasonal increase in school-related expenses, including tuition fees.
Ricafort also noted that during the same month, many overseas Filipinos converted their foreign currencies to pesos to take advantage of the dollar’s strength against the peso amid the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict.
Top remittance sources
The US remained the top source of cash remittances as of end-July, accounting for 40.3 percent of the total, followed by Singapore with 7.1 percent and Saudi Arabia with 6.2 percent.
Fund transfers from Japan contributed 5 percent, while the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates accounted for 4.8 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.
The US normally emerges as a top country source of Filipino remittances, given that many remittance centers globally often use US-based banks as intermediaries to process and transfer money to the Philippines. Thus, the reported data often show the origin of the funds as the US-based intermediaries even though they may just be transit points.
Global jobs market stability
Senior adviser Jonathan Ravelas at Reyes, Tacandong & Co. pointed to the overall global stability in the jobs market for overseas workers, which, he said, boosted July remittances.
Despite the geopolitical tensions, overseas Filipinos continued to send money to their beneficiaries at home to cover household spending.
Personal remittances
Meanwhile, the increase in cash remittances helped fuel steady growth in personal remittances, the BSP said. Personal remittances are cash sent through the banks and informal channels.
For the first seven months of this year, cumulative personal remittances grew 3.1 percent to $22.21 billion from $21.53 billion a year earlier.
For July alone, personal remittances rose 3.1 percent to $3.53 billion from the year-earlier amount of $3.43 billion.
Personal remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more amounted to $17.27 billion in January to July, up by 3.2 percent from $16.74 billion a year earlier, the data showed.
Workers under contract for less than one year remitted $4.39 billion, higher by 2.9 percent than the comparative period’s $4.27 billion.
