Remittances from overseas Filipinos hit seven-month high in July

Funds sent home by overseas Filipinos climbed to a seven-month high in July with remittances from sea-based workers for the month growing faster than those from land-based workers, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Monday showed.

Cash remittances or money transfers coursed through banks or formal channels stood at $3.179 billion in July, up 3.0% from the $3.085 billion the same month last year, and higher than the $2.987 billion in June.

This was also the highest in seven months since cash remittances were recorded at $3.733 billion in December 2024.

Land-based overseas Filipinos accounted for $2.59 billion, reflecting a 3.0% year-on-year increase, while sea-based overseas Filipinos accounted for $585 million, up by 3.1%.

Year-to-date cash remittances stood at $19.932 billion, indicating a 3.1% increase from the $19.332 billion in the comparable period of 2024.

The United States was the top source of remittances for the period with 40.3%, followed by Singapore with 7.1%, Saudi Arabia with 6.2%, Japan with 5.0%, the United Kingdom with 4.8%, and the United Arab Emirates with 4.4%.

Canada followed with 3.4%, Qatar with 2.9%, Taiwan with 2.8%, and South Korea with 2.7%, while other countries made up the remaining 20.5%.

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.

Personal remittances — the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind via informal channels — came in at $3.533 billion, up 3.1% from $3.428 billion in July 2024.

Cumulative personal remittances increased by 3.1% to $22.206 billion from $21.512 billion.—AOL, GMA Integrated News