Cash remittances jump by 3.5% in January

By Katherine K. Chan, Reporter

Money sent home by Filipinos abroad climbed year on year in January but fell from the month-ago level, preliminary Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.

Cash remittances, or money course through banks, from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) amounted to $3.02 billion in the first month of the year, up 3.5% from the $2.918 billion logged in January 2025.

However, this was the slowest annual growth seen in three months or since the 3% in October last year.

Month on month, cash remittances fell by 14.3% from the record-high $3.522 billion in December.

“The United States remained the top source of cash remittances to the Philippines in January 2026, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia,” the BSP said in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, personal remittances, which include both cash coursed through banks and informal channels and in-kind remittances, also went up by an annual 3.5% to $3.358 billion from $3.243 billion.