Remittances fall to 9-month low in February

Remittances from overseas Filipinos fell to a nine-month low in February, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday showed.

Cash remittances, or money transfers coursed through banks and other formal channels, stood at $2.786 billion (P167.08 billion) for the month—down from $3.020 billion (P181.11 billion) in January but slightly higher than the $2.716 billion (P162.88 billion) recorded in February 2025.

This marked the lowest level in nine months, or since May 2025 when remittances totaled $2.668 billion (P160.00 billion).

Of the total, land-based workers accounted for $2.25 billion (P134.93 billion), while sea-based workers sent $0.53 billion (P31.78 billion).

Year-to-date, cash remittances reached $5.806 billion (P348.19 billion), higher than the $5.633 billion (P337.81 billion) posted in the same period in 2025.

The United States remained the largest source of remittances in the first two months of the year, accounting for 40.0% of total inflows. It was followed by Singapore (7.6%), Saudi Arabia (6.1%), Japan (5.3%), and the United Kingdom (4.7%).

Other major sources included the United Arab Emirates (4.2%), Canada (3.1%), Taiwan (3.0%), Qatar (2.9%), and Hong Kong (2.7%), with the remaining 20.6% coming from other countries.

The BSP noted, however, that remittances coursed through money couriers cannot be disaggregated by actual country source. These are instead recorded under the country where the courier’s main office is located—often the United States.

Meanwhile, personal remittances—the sum of transfers sent in cash or in kind, including those coursed through informal channels—amounted to $3.103 billion (P186.09 billion).

This was also the lowest since May 2025’s $2.971 billion (P178.17 billion), declining from $3.358 billion (P201.38 billion) in January but slightly higher than the $3.024 billion (P181.35 billion) recorded a year earlier.

(Note: Philippine peso equivalents were computed using the BSP average daily exchange rate for February 2026 of P59.97 per US$1.)

—MCG, GMA News