Cash remittances sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) rose 3.7 percent to $3.12 billion in September 2025, up from $3.01 billion a year earlier, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday, 17 November.

This brought total remittances for the first nine months of the year to $26.03 billion, a 3.2-percent increase from the $25.23 billion recorded in the same period in 2024.

RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort said the pickup in remittances was partly due to improved weather conditions in September, which allowed for more normal business and banking operations.

He noted that this contrasts with the reduced number of working days in July and August, when storms and flooding disrupted transaction volumes and delayed some remittance flows.

Pent-up demand

Ricafort added that pent-up demand likely boosted remittance conversions as OFWs and their families prepared for regular household expenses and recovery needs. “Some increased OFW remittances could have partly gone to rehabilitation/reparation/rebuilding activities in areas hit hard by storms/typhoons/earthquakes around the country,” he said, noting that part of remittances could have been allocated for rehabilitation of areas hit by natural disasters.

The BSP reported the United States remained the largest source of remittances during January — September 2025, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

The central bank noted, however, that remittance data by source country has some limitations, as many remittance centers route funds through correspondent banks—often located in the U.S. — and transactions coursed through money couriers cannot always be disaggregated by the actual sending country.

Personal remittances

Personal remittances — which include cash sent through banks and informal channels, as well as remittances in kind — also grew 3.8 percent to US$3.46 billion in September.

Year-to-date personal remittances reached US$28.97 billion, up 3.2 percent from US$28.07 billion in the comparable period last year. On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, personal remittances increased by 1 percent.

“The faster and continued single-digit year-on-year growth in OFW remittances nevertheless is still a good signal/bright spot for the overall economy as an important growth driver, especially in terms of consumer spending, which accounts for about 73 percent of the Philippine economy,” Ricafort said.

He noted that remittances typically peak around the holiday season, especially in the week immediately before Christmas.

According to Ricafort, the uptick in remittances from OFWs during the Christmas season, alongside potential US Federal Reserve rate cuts, could be offsetting factors in supporting the peso moving forward.