Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers surged to $2.98 billion in April, marking a 4.1% increase from the same period last year, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This is the sharpest year-on-year growth since August 2022 and highlights the resilience of remittance flows amid global economic uncertainties.
The April figure helped push total personal remittances for the first four months of 2025 to $12.37 billion, up three percent from $12.01 billion a year earlier.
Cash remittances transferred through banks also recorded a notable 4% rise, hitting $2.66 billion in April, the highest rate of expansion in nearly 20 months. Year-to-date, these bank-based inflows reached $11.11 billion—again reflecting a 3% gain from the previous year.
“The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in January to April 2025,” the BSP said in its statement.
Economist Reinielle Matt Erece of Oikonomia Advisory & Research noted that the peso’s relative strength may be encouraging OFWs to send more dollars to maintain the same value of support back home. “We may continue to see stronger remittance inflows from OFWs due to the relative strength of the peso,” Erece explained.
The United States continued to dominate as the top source of OFW remittances, accounting for 40.4% of total inflows, followed by Singapore (7.3%) and Saudi Arabia (6.3%).
Remittances remain a key driver of the Philippine economy, sustaining household spending and helping stabilize the peso. The BSP maintains its forecast that both personal and cash remittances will grow by 2.8% this year and by 3% in 2026.