MONEY sent home by overseas Filipinos (OFs) slowed in April to a near one-year low, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed on Monday.
Personal remittances, which include cash sent through banks and informal channels, dropped 5.2 percent to $3.04 billion from $3.2 billion a month earlier but were 2.1 percent higher than the year-earlier $2.97 billion.
The 11-month low — overall remittances further fell to $2.91 billion in May last year — saw the year-to-date total hit P12.7 billion, up 2.7 percent from P12.37 billion in January-April 2025.
Year-on-year growth on a monthly basis was the slowest in more than three years while year to date it hit a low last seen in March last year.
Cash remittances alone totaled $2.72 billion, down 5.4 percent from March’s P2.87 billion but 2.0 percent up compared to April 2025’s P2.66 billion.
To date, cash remittances grew by 2.6 percent to P11.4 billion from the yearago P11.12 billion.
Cash remittance growth was the slowest in over three years on both a monthly and year-to-date basis.
Union Bank of the Philippines chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion said cash remittances continued to grow, but at a slower pace, suggesting households were becoming more cautious with spending amid global uncertainties and tighter budgets among overseas Filipino workers.
“The sequential drop in April suggests some normalization after earlier front-loading, but the slower year-on-year pace highlights emerging headwinds to income and deployment conditions,” he said.
“Remittances should remain resilient, but growth is likely to stay modest as elevated inflation continues to constrain both senders and recipients,” he added.
Land-based workers accounted for the bulk of May cash remittances at $2.12 billion, up from $2.08 billion a year earlier, while sea-based worker remittances slightly dropped to $580 million from $590 million.
Year to date, land-based OFs sent home $9.05 billion in cash, up from $8.82 billion a year earlier, while sea-based OFs saw their share grow to $2.34 billion from $2.29 billion.
The United States continued to account for the biggest share of cash remittances with 39.7 percent, followed by Singapore at 7.3 percent; Saudi Arabia, 6.4 percent; Japan, 5.1 percent; and the United Arab Emirates, 4.6 percent.
Rounding out the top 10 were the United Kingdom (4.4 percent), Canada (3.1 percent), Qatar (2.9 percent), Taiwan (2.8 percent) and Hong Kong (2.7 percent).
The BSP noted limitations on data by source as remittance centers abroad normally send the money through correspondent banks that are mostly located in the US.
Also, remittances sent through couriers are recorded under the country where their main offices are located, which again in many cases is the US.
“Therefore, the US would appear to be the main source of OF remittances because banks attribute the origin of funds to the most immediate source,” the BSP said.
Overall remittances totaled $39.62 billion last year, up 3.3 percent from $38.34 billion in 2024. The central bank expects remittances to grow to $36.7 billion this year.
