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Personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) increased year-on-year by 2.6 percent in March 2024 due to higher remittances from sea- and land-based Pinoy overseas workers.
Latest data released by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Wednesday showed that personal remittances from overseas Filipinos rose to $3.05 billion in March 2024 from $2.97 billion recorded in March 2023.
Of the personal remittances from OFs, cash remittances coursed through banks amounted to $2.74 billion in March 2024 from $2.67 billion posted in March 2023 or an annual increase of 2.5 percent.
“The increase in personal remittances in March 2024 was due to remittances from 1) land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and 2) sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year,” BSP said in its accompanying statement.
“The expansion in cash remittances in March 2024 was due to growth in receipts from both land- and sea-based workers,” BSP said.
For the first quarter of 2024, personal remittances increased by 2.8 percent to $9.15 billion from $8.90 billion in the first quarter in 2023.
On a year-to-date basis, first quarter 2024 cash remittances amounted to $8.22 billion, higher by 2.7 percent than the $8.00 billion registered in the first quarter last year.
The growth in cash remittances from the United States (U.S.), Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Singapore contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in Q1 2024.
In terms of the countries where these remittances originated, the U.S. had the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia. (TCSP)
