MANILA, Philippines – Personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) grew by 2.9 percent year-on-year, reaching $3.24 billion in January 2025 from $3.15 billion in the same period last year, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday.

The increase was observed in remittances from both land-based and sea-based workers, reflecting the continued strong financial support of OFs to their families in the Philippines.

Cash remittances, or those coursed through banks, also rose by 2.9 percent, from $2.84 billion in January 2024 to $2.92 billion in January 2025.

What drove the trend?

The BSP said that the expansion in remittances was mainly driven by increased inflows from OFs in Saudi Arabia, the United States, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Among the different sources of remittances, the United States remained the top contributor, accounting for 41.2 percent of the total cash remittances in January 2025. Singapore (7.5 percent) and Saudi Arabia (6.6 percent) followed as the next largest sources.

Other notable sources of remittances included Japan (5.7 percent), the United Kingdom (4.7 percent), the UAE (3.5 percent), Canada (3.1 percent), Taiwan (2.8 percent), Qatar (2.8 percent), and Malaysia (2.4 percent). The remaining 19.7 percent came from other countries, according to thecentral bank.