OFW End-July Remittances Hit $18.8 Billion

The cash remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) reached $18.785 billion during the January to July period, up by 2.9% from $18.264 billion during the same period last year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Cash remittances are the basis for BSP’s projection of a three percent growth in remittances for 2023). I Photo: SM City Lucena Facebook

BSP data showed that compared to end-June this year, cash remittances sent through the formal banking system rose by 18.94% from $15.793 billion.

The year-on-year growth of 2.9% is the same growth reported at the end of the first six months of 2023, signifying a steady amount of US dollars being sent by Overseas Filipinos (formerly called Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs) to their supported households in the Philippines.

For the first seven months, the BSP said most of the cash remittances, or 41.3%, came from Filipinos based in the US. The rest, or 6.9%, were remitted from Singapore, 5.9% from Saudi Arabia, five percent from Japan, and 4.8% from the United Kingdom.

The BSP pointed out that since there are limitations on the remittance data by source, the US usually emerges as a top source of remittances because most correspondent banks used by remittance centers are based in the US.

For July alone, cash remittances totaled $2.992 million, up 2.6 percent from the same month last year of $2.917 billion.

The expansion in cash remittances was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers. In July, land-based workers remitted $2.43 billion, up 2.7% year-on-year while sea-based workers sent home $560 million, which was 1.9% higher than the previous year.

On a year-to-date basis, land-based workers remitted $14.98 billion, up 3.1% year-on-year. Sea-based workers also transferred $3.81 billion, up two percent year-on-year. (The BSP records both cash remittances and personal remittances.

Cash remittances are the basis for BSP’s projection of a three percent growth in remittances for 2023).

As of end-July, personal remittances reached $20.911 billion, which was 2.9% higher than in the same period in 2022, of $20.236 billion. (Personal remittances are computed as the sum of an Overseas Filipino’s net compensation and include personal transfers and capital transfers between households. These are not captured by the banking system).

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