Clocking in $1.87 billion

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The inflow through Roshan Digital Account (RDA) reached $1.87 billion at the end of July, with the first month of the current fiscal year witnessing the second highest inflow, since the RDA was launched in September last year

By Muzaffar Rizvi

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Published: Sat 14 Aug 2021, 12:00 AM

Pakistan continued to receive steady money inflows through Roshan Digital Account (RDA) as it received $307 million in July, pushing the tally to $1.87 billion since the programme was launched in September 2020.

Latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in August first week shows that the country received $307 million last month compared to $310 million in June, reflecting a trend with inflow of over $300 million per month.


The RDA was introduced by the SBP in September 2020 for non-resident Pakistanis to enable them to remotely open bank accounts in Pakistan through online digital portals without physically visiting branches. It has become a great successful initiative after attracting more than 199,747 digital accounts in over 100 countries across the world so far.

The inflow through RDA was just $7 million in September 2020. However, it started increasing and reached $1.87 billion by the end of July, the first month of financial year 2021-22.


The month of July witnesses second highest inflow since the initiative launched in September. Last month, SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir said that the RDA initiative for overseas Pakistanis had generated new financial inflows of $1.87 billion which helped boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

The increased foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $17.85 billion by the end of July, improved the country’s image in the international market. Pakistan also raised an additional $1 billion through a tap issuance of its Eurobond that fetched $2.5 billion in March.

The State Bank said that Pakistan’s external position was at its strongest in several years. In line with SBP projections in March, current account deficit fell to only 0.6 per cent of GDP. The SBP governor said this was the lowest current account deficit in 10 years, supported by all-time high exports and remittances.

He also said that unlike several previous growth upturns in Pakistan, the current economic recovery would be accompanied by external stability.

Despite higher inflows like record remittances, improved exports and inflow through RDA, the local currency depreciated by seven per cent against the US dollar over the past two months.

However, the State Bank governor recently said that Pakistan’s reserve buffers are expected to rise by another $2.8 billion in August through the IMF’s planned new global SDR allocation.

He also said that current account deficit for the current fiscal year 2021-22 could be in the range of two to three per cent, much higher than 0.6 per cent of GDP in 2020-21. This forecast badly hit the exchange rate and importers rushed to book maximum dollars fearing more appreciation of the US currency against the rupee.

The SBP said that up to three per cent current account deficit in 2021-22 would be better than that of four per cent and six per cent in 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively. Pakistan needs up to $20 billion for external payments in 2021-22 which is the reason for higher current account deficit.

The number of RDAs opened by overseas Pakistanis reached 199,747 by the end of July this year.

SBP role is vital

The RDA, a joint initiative of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Government of Pakistan, facilitate overseas Pakistanis for sending remittances through official channels as well as offering them investment opportunities in the country.

Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the RDA service on September 10, 2020. Initially, eight commercial banks operating in Pakistan were part of the programme. Later, more banks have joined the initiative to facilitate the overseas Pakistani community.

According to the central bank, the growing popularity of accounts among non-resident Pakistanis across the globe indicates the increasing reach of the RDA and helping the government and the SBP improve the external account of the country.

A beneficial project for all

The major objective of the RDA is to attract millions of Pakistanis living abroad by offering much higher returns on deposits than those in developed economies.

Habib Bank Limited in collaboration with State Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan High Commission Canada in a recent webinar announced that 1,60,000 Pakistanis from over one hundred and seventy countries have so far invested $1.25 billion in Roshan Digital Accounts.

The bank also said that Roshan Digital Accounts have emerged as a dependable, secure and profitable banking solution and mode of investment for overseas Pakistanis.

Ensuring transparency

Experts said the central bank has launched an RDA programme as a challenge and worked round the clock with all the stakeholders such as Pakistani diplomatic missions abroad, expatriates forums, business groups and commercial banks to make this product work. They said the central bank should expand the scope of RDA and address the complaints of RDA account holders in real-time to retain their trust and confidence.

“The SBP should bring more banks into the RDA network and should have round the clock vigilance to monitor the account holders’ complaints. We may see some concerns even on social media platforms of the central bank, they said.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com


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