MONEY sent home by overseas Filipinos grew three percent in the first eight months of the year to US$24.74 billion from $24.01 billion recorded in the same period in 2023.
In August alone, remittances grew by 3.3 percent to $3.20 billion from $3.10 billion registered in August last year.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, that the expansion in personal remittances in August 2024 was due to higher 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.
Of the personal remittances, cash remittances, which were coursed through banks, reached $2.89 billion in August, up by 3.2 percent from the $2.80 billion posted in August last year. The growth in cash remittances in August was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers.
From January to August, cash remittances rose by 2.9 percent to $22.22 billion from $21.58 billion registered in the same period in 2023.
The increase in cash remittances during the first eight months was largely driven by higher inflows from the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
In terms of country sources, the US accounted for the largest share of overall cash remittances, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia. / KOC