Remittances dip 14% in January after record-high December

Following the record-high remittances in December last year, Filipinos working and living overseas remitted a relatively lower amount in January, largely due to the seasonal drop in remittances following the holiday spending surge.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed on Monday, Jan. 17, that cash remittances coursed through banks declined to $2.92 billion in the first month of the year from a historic high of $3.38 billion in December. 

This is equivalent to a nearly 14 percent, or $460 million, decline month-on-month. Although year-on-year, the January 2025 figure was slightly higher than $2.84 billion in January last year. 

According to the BSP’s statement released March 17,  the main contributors to the January 2025’s cash remittances were the funds sent in from Saudi Arabia, the United States (US), Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 
Of the total money transfers in January, the US held the lion share at over 41 percent. 
Cash remittances from countries that followed had single-digit shares, with Singapore at 7.5 percent, Saudi Arabia at 6.6 percent, Japan at 5.7 percent, and the United Kingdom (UK) at 4.7 percent.

The UAE followed with 3.5 percent, Canada with 3.1 percent, Taiwan and Qatar with 2.8 percent each, and Malaysia with 2.4 percent, while other countries accounted for the remaining 19.7 percent.

Several money transfer centers in countries abroad send money through partner banks, known as correspondent banks, most of which are based in the US, the central bank noted. 

It added that remittances sent through money couriers are recorded under the country where their main offices are based—often the US—rather than the actual source country.

“Therefore, the US would appear to be the main source of OF [overseas Filipino] remittances  because banks attribute the origin of funds to the most immediate source,” the BSP said.  

This decline could be closely attributed to “seasonal effects as the bulk of remittances are in the fourth quarter. So the slight decline is not alarming,” said Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co. and managing director of e-Management for Business and Marketing Services.

Personal remittances, or the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind via informal channels, likewise declined month-on-month. Filipinos abroad remitted $3.24 billion in January, down by $490 million or over 13 percent from $3.73 billion in December.

However, personal remittances saw a slight year-on-year increase from the $3.15 billion recorded in January 2024.