April remittances grew 4%, highest in over 2 years

An employee at a money exchange shop on A. Mabini Street in Manila accepts a hundred-dollar bill from a customer so it can be converted into pesos. April remittances grew at 4 percent, the highest in over two years. (Photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines – Money sent home by Filipinos overseas posted its best growth rate in over two years amid a seasonal surge in such inflows during the summer while expats tried to keep up with an appreciating peso.

Cash remittances coursed through banks increased by 4 percent year-on-year to $2.66 billion, latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

This was the highest annualized growth rate since the 5.8-percent expansion seen in December 2022. In the first four months, remittances climbed by 3 percent to $11.11 billion.

READ: Overseas Filipino remittances up 2.6% to $2.8 billion in March

Filipinos abroad typically send more money to their families at home during the summer season to pay for tuition fees and other school-related expenses before classes start. And this year was no exception.

But Reinielle Matt Erece, an economist at Oikonomia Advisory & Research Inc., said the relatively stable peso was also a reason for the strong remittance growth in April.

Weak dollar

Recall that the peso recently gained ground against the greenback, which is having one of its worst years due to erratic trade policies in the United States. And this strength of the local currency is cutting the peso-value of remittances.

“The strong remittance growth for April may be attributed to seasonal factors, as this month usually posts one of the fastest during the summer months,” Erece said.

“However, we may continue to see stronger remittance inflows from OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) due to the relative strength of the peso. They may be prompted to send more to maintain the same peso value they used to send,” he added.

United States

The BSP said the higher growth of remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates drove the overall increase in remittances during the January-April period.

By country source, the United States accounted for the largest share of total cash remittances. To note, it is a common practice of remittance centers in various cities abroad to course remittances through correspondent banks, most of which are located in the United States.

For the whole 2025, the BSP projected remittances to grow by 2.8 percent to $35.5 billion. The central bank attributed this outlook to the decision of major host economies, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to advocate for the localization of their workforce. Meanwhile, stricter US immigration policies are expected to have a “minimal effect” on such inflows. INQ