MONEY sent home by overseas Filipinos reached USD3.04 billion in June, the highest monthly level recorded in the first half of this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
Preliminary data released by the BSP on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, showed that the amount was 1.7 percent higher than the US$2.99 billion in cash remittances recorded last year.
“From a business perspective, the steady rise in remittances is supportive because these flows go directly into household spending,” Robert Dan Roces, group economist at SM Investments, said.
For January to June this year, cash remittances amounted to $17.15 billion, up by 2.4 percent from $16.75 billion in the same period in the previous year.
The United States remained the top source of inflows, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
Personal remittances, which cover cash sent through banks and informal channels, as well as remittances in kind, also rose by 1.8 percent to $3.39 billion from $3.33 billion in June 2025.
For the first half of the year, personal remittances went up by 2.4 percent to $19.12 billion.
Roces said remittances provide a reliable income buffer for overseas Filipino workers’ families and help sustain consumption across food, retail, housing, and other services.
“This provides some underlying support for consumption and suggests household demand can hold up even in a more challenging inflation environment,” he said. / PNA
