Inflows sent through formal banking channels by Filipinos working abroad expanded only modestly in April, with the annual pace easing to its dullest reading since the middle of 2022, according to figures published by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The central bank pegged year-on-year growth at 2%, lifting cash remittances to $2.718 billion for the month against $2.664 billion booked in April 2025. Not since May 2022 — when the rate registered 1.8% and the total stood at $2.425 billion — has the annual expansion been this thin.
A separate strain showed up in the monthly comparison. April’s haul came in 5.4% below the $2.874 billion recorded in March, and it was also the smallest single-month figure in roughly a year, undercutting every reading since the $2.658 billion posted in May 2025.
The BSP, in a statement issued Monday, framed the numbers as a sign of durability rather than weakness, attributing the softer momentum to unsettled conditions abroad. “Cash remittances continued to grow in April 2026, reflecting the resilience of remittances from Overseas Filipinos amid prevailing global economic conditions,” the central bank said.
For the year so far, the cumulative tally tells a steadier story. Remittances over the January-to-April stretch totaled $11.398 billion, up 2.6% from the $11.107 billion logged across the same four months of 2025.
Whether that pace holds will shape how close the country lands to the central bank’s own target. The BSP has penciled in 3% growth for the full year, which would bring 2026 inflows to $36.7 billion — a step down from the 3.3% gain to $35.6 billion that capped 2025.
