Villanueva eyes to slash OFWs remittance fee by half

Senator Joel Villanueva said he aims to cut remittance fees charged to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in half, noting that such costs “diminish” the value of their work abroad to the detriment of their families left behind in the country.

Villanueva, chair of the Senate committee on banks, also sought increased transparency and accounting of remittance charges through Senate Bill No. 181, or the Overseas Filipino Workers Remittance Protection Act.

He argued that high fees "diminish the value of OFWs' money and reduce effectively its ability to provide a better means of living for their respective families left behind" in the Philippines.

“We must remember that OFW remittances are a lifeline for their families, which supports their basic needs," Villanueva said.

“We think that our proposed legislation today would provide regulators with a working framework to achieve the significant reduction of remittance fees so OFW families could benefit more from the hard work and sacrifice of their loved ones overseas," he added.

As for OFW remittances, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shows a total of US$19.9 billion or around P1.16 trillion from January to July 2025 alone.

For the entire year of 2024, remittances total US$34.5 billion or P2.01 trillion, the BSP said. This amount accounted for 8.3 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product, making OFW remittances a stable growth driver of the Philippine economy.

As to the cost of sending remittances, globally, the average for small amounts is about 6.49 percent of the amount sent.

Aside from the reduction in remittance charges and the mandatory disclosures on its structure, the bill also prohibits BSP-supervised institutions from raising current levels of remittance fees without prior consultation with the BSP, Department of Migrant Workers, and the Department of Finance.