Lowered Remittance Fees are good for the PHL Economy – BSP

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Friday that the G20’s (Group of Twenty) plan to lower remittance fees from seven point nine percent to five percent by 2017 was good news for the Philippine economy.

According to a report on GMA News TV’s “QRT”, the BSP projected that the lowering of fees overseas Filipino workers would need to pay to send money home would increase the remittance inflow to the country.

“We continue to see [remittances] as a very steady source of foreign exchange, a very important safety valve against the vagaries of international finance,” explained BSB Monetary Stability Sector OIC Dr. Ma. Cyd Tuano-Amador.

The Philippines is the third top recipient of remittances in the world, receiving $24 billion by end of 2012.

According to a G20 communique released last November 16, reducing the global average cost of transferring remittances was part of the G20’s action plan to contribute to “inclusive and sustainable growth in low-income and developing countries.”

(Source: Rie Takumi/DVM, GMA News)