Remittances down in January — BSP

Funds sent in by overseas Filipinos declined in January after the record-high posted in the previous month, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday showed.

Cash remittances or money transfers through banks or formal channels for the month stood at $2.918 billion, lower than the $3.380 billion in December 2024, but higher than the $2.836 billion in January 2024.

“The growth in cash remittances from the Saudi Arabia, United States, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) mainly contributed to the increase in remittances in January 2025,” the BSP said in a statement.

The United States accounted for 41.2% of cash remittances for the month, followed by Singapore with 7.5%, Saudi Arabia with 6.6%, Japan with 5.7%, and the United Kingdom with 4.7%.

They were backed by the UAE with 3.5%, Canada with 3.1%, Taiwan and Qatar with 2.8% each, and Malaysia with 2.4%, while other countries accounted for the remaining 19.7%.

The BSP noted, however, that remittances coursed through money couriers cannot be disaggregated by actual country source and these are lodged under the country where the main offices are located, which is in the United States in many cases.

Meanwhile, personal remittances — the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind via informal channels — was recorded at $3.243 billion, down from $3.733 billion in December, but higher than the $3.163 billion in January 2024. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News