Dollars sent home by overseas Filipinos increased year-on-year last April as Pinoy expats sent more money to their loved ones in the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday.
Data released by the central bank showed that cash remittances or money transfers through banks or formal channels stood at $2.562 billion in April, up by 3.1% from $2.77 billion during the same month last year.
“The increase in personal remittances in April 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.
The total amount of money sent back by individuals from January to April 2024 went up by 2.8%, from $11.68 billion in 2023 to $12.01 billion in 2024.
Cash remittances through banks hit $2.56 billion in April 2024, up 3.2% from $2.48 billion in April 2023.
Year-to-date, cash remittances have reached $10.78 billion, up 2.8% from $10.49 billion this time last year.
“The expansion in cash remittances in April 2024 was due to growth in receipts from both land- and sea-based workers,” BSP said.
The growth in cash remittances from the United States (U.S.), Saudi Arabia, and Singapore contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first four months of 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.
In an emailed commentary, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the growth in OFW remittances nevertheless is still a good signal for the overall economy as an important growth driver, especially in terms of consumer spending, which accounts for about 74% of the Philippine economy.
“The continued and consistent growth in OFW remittances could be attributed to higher (…)inflation locally that required the sending of more OFW remittances back to the country,” Ricafort said.
“For the coming months, single-digit/modest growth in OFW remittances could still continue as OFW families/dependents still need to cope with relatively higher prices/inflation locally that would require the sending of more remittances, as well as some normalization of spending by consumers/households for both essentials and non-essentials,” Ricafort added. (TCSP)
