Cash remittances rise to USD 2.79 billion

MANILA — Cash remittances from overseas Filipinos reached USD 2.79 billion in February 2026, up from USD 2.72 billion in February 2025, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. On a cumulative basis, cash remittances rose 3.1% to USD 5.81 billion in January–February 2026 from USD 5.63 billion in the same period last year.

Personal remittances, which include cash sent through banks and informal channels as well as remittances in kind, climbed to USD 3.10 billion in February 2026 from USD 3.02 billion in February 2025. Year to date, personal remittances increased 3.1% to USD 6.46 billion in January–February 2026 from USD 6.27 billion a year earlier.

The BSP’s chart on page 1 also showed seasonally adjusted personal remittances at USD 3.32 billion in February 2026, with a month-on-month seasonally adjusted decline of 4.3%.

For cash remittances, the same page showed a 2.6% year-on-year increase in February 2026.

Land-based workers accounted for USD 2.25 billion in cash remittances in February 2026, up from USD 2.19 billion in February 2025, for a 2.7% increase. Their cumulative cash remittances reached USD 4.67 billion in January–February 2026, up from USD 4.52 billion a year earlier, or 3.1%.

Sea-based workers sent USD 0.55 billion in February 2026, up from USD 0.52 billion in February 2025, for a 2.0% gain. Their cumulative cash remittances reached USD 1.14 billion in January–February 2026, up from USD 1.11 billion in the same period last year, or 2.8%.

The United States remained the top source of cash remittances to the Philippines in January–February 2026, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia, the BSP said.

Based on the country-share breakdown on page 2, the United States accounted for 40.0% of total cash remittances in January–February 2026. Singapore contributed 7.6%, Saudi Arabia 6.1%, Japan 5.3%, the United Kingdom 4.7%, the United Arab Emirates 4.2%, Canada 3.1%, Taiwan 3.0%, Qatar 2.9%, and Hong Kong, SAR China 2.7%, while other sources made up 20.6%.

For land-based cash remittances, the United States accounted for 42.2%, followed by Saudi Arabia at 7.5%, Singapore at 6.7%, the United Arab Emirates at 5.1%, and Japan at 4.4%. Other sources made up 34.0%.

For sea-based cash remittances, the United States accounted for 31.2%, followed by Singapore at 11.4%, Japan at 8.6%, the United Kingdom at 5.9%, and Germany at 5.8%. Other sources made up 37.1%.

The BSP noted a limitation in the remittance data by source country. It said many remittance centers abroad route transfers through correspondent banks, most of which are in the United States, while remittances coursed through money couriers are often recorded under the country where the firms’ main offices are located.

Because of that reporting practice, the United States may appear as the main source of overseas Filipino remittances because banks attribute the origin of funds to the most immediate source, the BSP said.

The latest figures underscore the continued importance of overseas Filipino remittances to Philippine households, particularly as a source of support for family spending and other day-to-day needs, while also providing a steady stream of foreign exchange to the domestic economy.