Cash remittances up at $30 B end-nov. 2023

Overseas Filipinos’ cash remittances increased by 2.8 percent year-on-year to $30.211 billion as of end-november 2023 from $29.38 billion same time in 2022, based on the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The BSP said Monday, Jan. 15, that for the month of November, remittances sent through official banking channels rose by 2.8 percent to $2.719 billion from $2.644 billion in 2022.

As for personal remittances which include fund transfers not transacted via banking networks, this went up by 2.9 percent year-on-year to $33.585 billion as of end-november from $32.649 billion last year.

BSP data showed that for the month of November, personal remittances increased 2.9 percent to $3.017 billion from $2.931 billion.

Personal remittances are computed as the sum of an overseas Filipino’s net compensation and includes personal transfers and capital transfers between households.

From January to November, the central bank said land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more transferred personal remittances of $26.1 billion, up three percent yearon-year or from $25.3 billion. Sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year sent home $6.8 billion, up 2.3 percent from $6.6 billion.

Meanwhile, on a year-to-date basis, cash remittances by land-based workers totaled $24 billion as of end-november, it rose by 3.1 percent from $23.3 billion same time last year. Sea-based workers also transferred $6.2 billion, up 1.9 percent from $6.1 billion.

The BSP said the growth in cash remittances were mainly contributed by transfers from the US, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan and United Kingdom.

For 11-month period, about 41.2 percent of remittances came from Filipinos based in the US. About 6.9 percent were remitted from Singapore; six percent from Saudi Arabia; five percent from Japan; and 4.7 percent from the United Kingdom.

The BSP also recorded remittances from the United Arab Emirates which accounted for 4.3 percent; Canada with 3.6 percent; Qatar with 2.8 percent; Tawain with 2.7 percent; and South Korea with 2.5 percent.

The BSP records both cash remittances and personal remittances but they base its projection for remittances on the cash remittances data.

For 2023 and 2024, the BSP expects remittances to grow by three percent year-on-year.

In December, in announcing the latest external sector projections, the central bank said key downside risks to the country’s external position continue to come from subdued

global demand conditions, weak trade and investment prospects, lingering high interest rate environment, elevated inflation, and the escalation of geopolitical tensions in various parts of the world.

On the domestic front, the BSP said a weaker-than-target gross domestic product outturn and higher-forlonger interest rate environment are among the key factors that could weigh on the country’s external outlook over the near term.

Meanwhile, it noted that “positive reinforcements to the country’s external sector continue to include the rebound in the global tech cycle supporting the recovery of electronics exports, the international lifting of the state of health emergency which will support both travel and the hiring of Filipino workers overseas, with the latter benefitting as well from labor shortages in countries challenged by an ageing population.”