March remittance growth slowest in nearly three years

Money sent home by Filipinos abroad rose by year on year 2.3% in March, the slowest growth seen in nearly three years, according to preliminary Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data.

Cash remittances, or money coursed through banks by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), grew by 2.3% to USD 2.874 billion in March from USD 2.81 billion a year ago, the central bank reported on Friday.

This was the smallest increase in two years and nine months or since the 2.2% growth in June 2023.

Month on month, cash remittances climbed by 3.2% from USD 2.786 billion in February.

Land-based OFWs sent home the bulk of remittances during the month at USD 2.26 billion, which was up by 2.2% year on year from USD 2.22 billion.

Sea-based workers accounted for the remaining USD 610 million remitted in March, 2.5% higher than the USD 590 million recorded in the same month last year.

Personal remittances likewise increased by 2.3% to USD 3.203 billion in the same month from USD 3.13 billion a year earlier. These include both cash coursed through banks and informal channels as well as in-kind remittances.

First quarter

For the first quarter, cash remittances stood at USD 8.68 billion, up 2.8% year on year from USD 8.444 billion.

OFWs in the United States continued to send the most money to the Philippines in the period, accounting for 39.9% of total cash remittances.

This was followed by Singapore (7.6%), Saudi Arabia (6.3%), Japan (5%), the United Arab Emirates (4.7%), the United Kingdom (4.3%), Canada (3%), Qatar (2.9%), Taiwan (2.9%) and Hong Kong (2.7%).

BSP data showed that USD 6.93 billion of cash sent home in the first quarter came from land-based migrant workers. This was 2.8% higher than USD 6.74 billion in the same period last year.

Sea-based OFWs’ cash remittances also went up by 2.7% to USD 1.75 billion from USD 1.7 billion.

Meanwhile, personal remittances amounted to USD 9.664 billion during the period, growing by 2.8% from USD 9.397 billion previously.

Cash remittances made up 7.2% of the country’s gross domestic product in the first quarter, steady from the year-ago ratio, while personal remittances accounted for 8.2%, edging down from 8.3% previously.

The central bank sees cash remittances growing by a slower 3% to USD 36.7 billion this year from the 3.3% annual increase seen in 2025 (to USD 35.6 billion). — Katherine K. Chan