Cash remittances from overseas Filipinos went up 3.3 percent in November 2024 to $2.81 billion from $2.72 billion posted a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Wednesday.
The BSP said this brought total cash remittances coursed through banks in the first 11 months of 2024 to $31.11 billion, up by 3 percent from $30.21 billion registered in the same period in 2023.
“Cash remittances are projected to increase by 3.0 percent for full-year 2024,” the BSP said in a statement.
Meanwhile, personal remittances which include cash remittances and other in-kind items sent by Filipinos abroad climbed 3.5 percent in November to $3.12 billion from $3.02 billion in the same month of 2023.
The growth was seen in remittances from both land-based and sea-based workers.
Personal remittances totaled $34.61 billion in the 11-month period, up by 3 percent from $33.59 billion seen a year earlier.
The increase in personal remittances was in line with the full-year projected growth of 3.0 percent in 2024, the BSP said.
The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates contributed mainly to the increase in remittances from January to November 2024, the BSP said.
It said that in terms of country sources, the US accounted for the largest share of overall cash remittances in the 11-month period, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia
The BSP, however, noted the 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 US.
“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 BSP said.
