ROSHAN DIGITAL ACCOUNT ACHIEVES MILESTONES
More than 700,000 overseas Pakistanis open Roshan Digital Accounts and invests $8.25 billion by June this year
OVERSEAS Pakistanis deposited and invested a total of $1.90 billion through the Roshan Digital Account (RDA), bringing the cumulative gross inflows through the RDA to $8.25 billion since its launch in September 2020.
Latest data of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the central bank, shows that the net RDA inflows, excluding withdrawals and domestic utilisation, improved by $311 million to reach $1.43 billion in financial year 2023-24. This contributed to stabilising Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, which increased to $9.15 billion as of August 2, up from around $4 billion in June 2023.
In June 2024 alone, non-resident Pakistanis injected a gross $200 million into the RDA, further bolstering the total gross inflows over the past 45 months. This also reflects the increasing trust and participation of the Pakistani diaspora in the country’s financial system.
The Roshan Digital Accounts provide innovative banking solutions to millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC) holders, for banking, payment, and investment activities in Pakistan.
As per the SBP data, the RDA initiative has seen significant growth, with the number of account holders now exceeding to 700,000. The number of accounts registered under the programme increased by 12,960 to 702,610 in May 2024 from 689,650 in April 2024.
The central bank data shows that out of the total $8.25 billion in gross RDA inflows, Pakistani expatriates utilised $5.21 billion domestically and withdrew $1.61 billion from their RDA accounts. As a result, the net deposits and investments through the RDA stood at $1.43 billion as of the end of June 2024.
By the end of June, overseas Pakistanis have invested $348 million in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs), $592 million in Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates, and $38 million in Roshan Equity Investment. About $422 million was maintained as net deposits while $31 million was in other liabilities.
Financial experts noted that non-resident Pakistanis have been increasing their investments in various assets through the RDA, reflecting growing confidence in Pakistan’s economic stability and the rupee-dollar parity. The higher returns on Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) and the overall economic stability in the country have been key factors driving the increased investment through the RDA.
Expatriates can freely invest or withdraw deposits and investments in NPCs denominated in Pakistani rupee, US dollar, UK pound, and euro through their online RDA accounts, with the returns significantly higher than those offered by debt instruments in developed countries.
These RDA inflows are in addition to the monthly workers’ remittances, which increased by 10.57 per cent to $30.25 billion in fiscal year 2023-24, significantly aiding in financing the trade deficit over the year.