Philippine remittances hit record USD 3.52B in December

Overseas Filipino (OF) cash remittances rose to a record USD 3.52 billion in December 2025, lifting full-year inflows to an all-time high of USD 35.63 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

The full-year 2025 cash remittance total was 3.3 percent higher than the USD 34.49 billion recorded in 2024, according to the BSP’s Feb. 16 release.

The central bank said 2025 cash remittances were equivalent to 7.3 percent of the Philippines’ gross domestic product and 6.4 percent of gross national income.

On a comparable monthly basis, cash remittances increased from USD 3.38 billion in December 2024 to USD 3.52 billion in December 2025, based on the BSP’s remittance table of levels in million U.S. dollars.

The United States remained the top source of cash remittances to the Philippines in 2025, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia, the BSP said.

In the BSP’s country-share chart for January to December 2025, the United States accounted for 39.7 percent of total cash remittances, followed by Singapore (7.3 percent) and Saudi Arabia (6.6 percent).

The same chart shows Japan at 5.0 percent, the United Kingdom at 4.6 percent, the United Arab Emirates at 4.6 percent, Canada at 3.5 percent, Qatar at 2.9 percent, Taiwan at 2.8 percent, Hong Kong, SAR China at 2.5 percent, and “others” at 20.6 percent.

For land-based workers, the BSP chart lists the United States at 41.0 percent, Saudi Arabia at 8.2 percent, Singapore at 6.5 percent, the United Arab Emirates at 5.7 percent, Japan at 4.5 percent, and “others” at 33.6 percent.

For sea-based workers, the chart lists the United States at 32.2 percent, Singapore at 10.3 percent, Japan at 7.1 percent, the United Kingdom at 5.4 percent, Germany at 5.4 percent, and “others” at 39.6 percent.

The BSP cautioned that country-source data have limitations because remittance centers often route transfers through correspondent banks—many based in the United States—and because some remittances sent through money couriers cannot be disaggregated by the actual origin country and are instead recorded under where main offices are located.

Personal remittances – which the BSP defines as cash sent through banks and informal channels plus remittances in kind – also climbed to a record USD 3.89 billion in December 2025.

For the full year, personal remittances rose 3.3 percent to an all-time high of USD 39.62 billion from USD 38.34 billion in 2024, the central bank said.

In monthly terms, personal remittances increased from USD 3.73 billion in December 2024 to USD 3.892 billion in December 2025, based on the BSP’s published series of levels in million U.S. dollars.

The BSP said its personal remittance series is computed from net compensation of employees, personal transfers, and capital transfers between households, and noted that its personal remittance data were seasonally adjusted using the X-13ARIMA-SEATS method developed by the U.S. Census Bureau.