Overseas Filipinos send more money home in January

US, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Singapore lead 3.5% remittance growth

Overseas Filipino (OF) remittances through banking networks increased by 3.5 percent to $2.76 billion in January this year from the same period last year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The US was the biggest contributor to the rise, accounting for 41.9 percent of all remittances, followed by Singapore with 7.2 percent, and Japan and Saudi Arabia with 5.9 percent each.

The increase was driven by growth in receipts from land and sea-based workers, said the BSP.

Personal remittances – the sum of an OF’s net compensation and personal transfers – hit $3.07 billion in January, up 3.5 percent from last year, the BSP added.