Personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) in September 2023 reached US$3.23 billion, 2.6 percent higher than the US$3.15 billion recorded in the same month last year. The growth in personal remittances in September 2023 was driven by increased 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.
Similarly, the total personal remittances received from OFs in January to September of 2023 amounted to US$27.24 billion, up by 2.8 percent from US$26.49 billion registered in the comparable period in 2022.
Of the personal remittances, cash remittances sent through banks grew by 2.6 percent to US$2.91 billion in September 2023 from US$2.84 billion in the same month of the previous year. The growth in cash remittances in September 2023 was due to increased receipts from both land- and sea-based workers.
On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances for the first nine months of the year amounted to US$24.49 billion, a 2.8 percent increase from the US$23.83 billion received during the same period of the previous year.
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 three quarters of 2023. In terms of the countries where these remittances originate, the U.S. had the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Japan.[1]
[1] There are some limitations on the remittance data by source. A common practice of remittance centers in various cities abroad is to course remittances through correspondent banks, most of which are located in the U.S. Also, remittances coursed through money couriers cannot be disaggregated by actual country source and are lodged under the country where the main offices are located, which, in many cases, is in the U.S. Therefore, the U.S. would appear to be the main source of OF remittances because banks attribute the origin of funds to the most immediate source. The countries are listed in order of their share of cash remittances, i.e., from highest to lowest.
