Imran Khan thanks Pakistanis as Roshan Digital Account crosses $1 billion milestone

Dubai - The service had been inaugurated in September last year.

The Roshan Digital Account (RDA) programme on Saturday crossed a major milestone and hit the $1 billion mark as overseas Pakistanis continued to post trust in the central bank initiative.

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Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked non-resident Pakistanis and appreciated the banks and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for achieving the milestone in such a short period.

"Alhamdulilah, funds received through #RoshanDigital Account have crossed $1bn. I would like to thank our overseas Pakistanis for their overwhelming response; also appreciate the efforts of SBP & banks for achieving this significant milestone in such a short period," the Prime Minister tweeted.

Imran Khan inaugurated the RDA service on September 10, 2020. It is a joint effort of the SBP and the federal government in collaboration with eight commercial banks operating in Pakistan. Later, more banks joined the initiative to facilitate the overseas Pakistani community.

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. The initiative helped overseas citizens to remotely open bank accounts in Pakistan through online digital portals without physically visiting branches.

Banking experts and analysts were optimistic about the outlook of Roshan Digital Account and said it would continue to attract funds from overseas Pakistanis, especially those based in the Gulf region.

"Pakistan is expected to receive up to $1.5 billion foreign currency inflows through the RDA programme by June. This may go as high as $2 billion by December this year as overseas Pakistanis are investing in Naya Pakistan Certificates," Samiullah Tariq, head of research at Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company, told Khaleej Times on Saturday.

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 external account of the country.

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"The UAE and Saudi Arabia will remain top contributors to the RDA while non-resident Pakistanis in Europe, Canada and the United States also contributed to the programme regularly," Tariq said.

The RDA, an SBP initiative to ease remittances and offer investment opportunities in the country, is gaining momentum among overseas Pakistanis, with over 100,000 accounts signed so far since its launch in September last year.

Banking experts said the RDA is going to be third major source of foreign currency inflows into the country after rising remittances and steady exports.

muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com

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