Personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) in September 2022 reached US$3.15 billion, 4.0 percent higher than the US$3.03 billion recorded in the same month last year.
This resulted in cumulative remittances rising by 3.1 percent in the first three quarters of 2022 to US$26.49 billion from US$25.70 billion registered in the comparable period in 2021.
The increase in personal remittances in September 2022 was due to remittances sent by 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, cash remittances coursed through banks grew by 3.8 percent to US$2.84 billion in September 2022 from US$2.74 billion recorded in the same month last year. On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances amounted to US$23.83 billion in January-September 2022, up by 3.1 percent from US$23.12 billion recorded in the same period last year.
The expansion in cash remittances in September 2022 was due to the growth in receipts from land-based and sea-based workers.
The growth in cash remittances from the United States (US), Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Qatar contributed largely to the increase in remittances in the first three quarters of 2022. Meanwhile, in terms of country sources, the US posted the highest share of overall remittances in the first nine months of 2022, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia. [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
