Filipinos working overseas sent more money back home in March 2024, fueling household spending and supporting the growth of various industries, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.
The BSP said in a statement Wednesday cash remittances coursed through banks amounted to $2.74 billion in March, up from $2.67 billion posted a year ago.
“The expansion in cash remittances in March 2024 was due to growth in receipts from both land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said.
This brought total cash remittances in the first quarter to $8.22 billion, up by 2.7 percent from $8 billion registered in the same period last year.
Remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore contributed mainly to the first-quarter increase.
Data showed that in terms of the countries where these remittances originated, the US had the highest share, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia
Meanwhile, personal remittances which include items not coursed through banks reached $3.05 billion in March, higher than $2.97 billion recorded in the month last year, according to the BSP.
“The increase in personal remittances in March 2024 was due to remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year,” the BSP said.
Personal remittances in the first quarter also went up by 2.8 percent to $9.15 billion from $8.90 billion in the same period last year.
Remittances, which account for about a tenth of the gross national income, support the growth of various sectors in the Philippines including banking, retail, transportation, education and healthcare.