Daily Times

Inflow of remittances under Roshan Digital Account (RDA) rose to US $4.606b by the end of June 2022 as compared to US $4.356b till end of May, according to a latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan.

The data showed that the inflows of remittances during the month of June were recorded at $250m as compared to $189m in May and $245m in April, 2022, showing an increase of 32% against May.

Roshan Digital Account (RDA) was launched by State Bank of Pakistan in collaboration with commercial banks operating in the country. These accounts provide innovative banking solutions to millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC) holders, seeking to undertake banking, payment and investment activities in Pakistan. As per data, expatriate Pakistanis from 175 countries had deposited the funds to 429,364 accounts opened through RDA. The number of accounts has also been increased from 416,837 in May to 429,364 in June 2022, which means some 12,527 new accounts were opened in June.

The scheme that started in September 2020 received lukewarm response from the overseas Pakistanis who deposited only $7m in the opening month, however with the passage of time the interest kept on increasing as the inflow reached to $40m in October 2020 and $110m in the subsequent month. On June 21, the RDA marked a historic day when it received the highest ever daily inflows of $57m, taking the accumulated deposits in RDA to around $4.6b.

The State Bank of Pakistan Spokesperson said both SBP and the government remained committed to serving the needs of our Overseas Pakistanis, we thank them for their continuous trust. He said around $800mn have been repatriated by RDA holders in 22 months since start of RDA in September 2020 to meet their personal needs in their countries of residence. As a result, net inflows amount to over $3.8b.