Personal Remittances Reaches US$3.0 Billion in November 2023

Personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) reached US$3.0 billion in November 2023, higher by 2.9 percent than the US$2.9 billion posted in November 2022. The growth in personal remittances during the month was driven by increased remittances from 1) land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and 2) sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year.

Similarly, the cumulative personal remittances grew by 2.9 percent to US$33.6 billion in the first eleven months of 2023 from US$32.6 billion recorded in the comparable period in 2022.

Out of the personal remittances, cash remittances from OFs coursed through banks registered a 2.8 percent increase to US$2.7 billion in November 2023 from US$2.6 billion in the same month of 2022. The growth in cash remittances in November 2023 was primarily due to increased receipts from both land- and sea-based workers.

On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances reached US$30.2 billion for the first eleven months of 2023, higher by 2.8 percent than the year-ago level of US$29.4 billion.

The growth in cash remittances from the United States (U.S.), Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first eleven months of 2023. In terms of the countries where these remittances originate, the U.S. had the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.^[1]

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^[1] There are some limitations on the remittance data by source. A common practice of remittance centers in various cities abroad is to course remittances through correspondent banks, most of which are located in the U.S. Also, remittances coursed through money couriers cannot be disaggregated by actual country source and are lodged under the country where the main offices are located, which, in many cases, is in the U.S. Therefore, the U.S. would appear to be the main source of OF remittances because banks attribute the origin of funds to the most immediate source. The countries are listed in order of their share of cash remittances, i.e., from highest to lowest.