Report: Remittances outpace local monthly incomes

19% of households report regularly running out of money

Based on a recently-released report by international money transfer processing company UniTeller, monthly remittances are reportedly outpacing the monthly income of low-income families in the Philippines by 2.5 times.

According to the report, the monthly remittance amount being sent back to the Philippines intended

for low-income households averages around $446 (approximately P22,594), while the average monthly income for such families averages around $175 (about P8,865).

“Remittances are playing a more important role in the livelihoods of low-income

families and communities,” UniTeller CEO Alberto Guerra said in response to the findings. “As the reliance on remittances grows, a key challenge is ensuring this income translates to building sustainable wealth.”

Notable takeaways from the report also found 25 percent of remittances go towards repaying loans, while 19 percent of recipients report regularly running out of money.

In response, it was also found 72 percent of recipients will contact the sender when they run out of money.

The report is based on a survey of 1,911 interviews with adults from lowincome households based in four countries, 606 of which were from the Philippines./WDJ