Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) saw a robust growth of 3.3 percent in August 2024, reaching USD3.20 billion, up from USD3.10 billion in August 2023.
This increase was driven primarily by higher contributions from land-based workers with contracts of one year or more, as well as from sea- and land-based workers with contracts of less than one year.
Cumulative remittances for the year from January to August 2024 also demonstrated a positive trend, rising by 3 percent to USD24.74 billion compared to USD24.01 billion in the same period last year.
Cash remittances, which are funneled through banks, amounted to USD2.89 billion in August 2024, reflecting a 3.2 percent increase from the USD2.80 billion recorded in August 2023.
This growth was again attributed to the inflow from land- and sea-based workers. For the year-to-date, cash remittances totaled USD22.22 billion, a 2.9 percent rise from USD21.58 billion in the previous year.
Significantly, remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Singapore were key contributors to this uptick.
The U.S. continued to hold the largest share of overall cash remittances for January-August 2024, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia, underscoring the vital role of these countries in supporting the Philippine economy through remittances.
