Overseas Pakistanis remit $1.6bln through RDAs

KARACHI: Overseas Pakistanis have remitted approximately $1.6 billion through Roshan digital accounts (RDAs) in less than one year, according to the central bank on Saturday, using funds for financial transactions and investments in their homeland.

Total 181,556 accounts have been opened from 171 countries across the world and 1.562 billion has been deposited in these accounts through end-June 2021, according to online data of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The webpage shows monthly trends in the number of accounts opened, deposits, and investments in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) and the stock market. The data shows an accelerating trend across all these dimensions over the last few months. June 2021 saw the highest monthly amount of deposits ($310 million) and NPC investments ($233 million) since the launch of RDA. As of end-June, $1.050 billion has been invested in NPCs, with $621 million in conventional NPCs and $429 million in Islamic NPCs.

Since its launch on 10th September, 2020, RDA, connecting the diaspora to the local financial system and economy, has attracted significant interest from overseas Pakistanis.

“In line with SBP’s commitment to transparency in its key policy measures, SBP has begun releasing regular data on the progress of RDA. Based on individual reports of banks that participate in RDA, the data has been consolidated and made available to the public through a new web page: sbp.org.pk/RDA/Progress.html. This web page will be updated on a monthly basis. This periodic update was also requested by market participants,” said the SBP.

For the first time, it allows overseas Pakistanis to open a bank account in Pakistan in a completely digital manner, without needing to visit any bank branch or embassy. The account enables overseas Pakistanis to undertake all kinds of banking transactions in Pakistan, including paying school and utility bills for their families, funds transfer, e-commerce, car financing through Roshan Apni Car and making charitable donations through Roshan Samaaji Khidmat.

At the same time, the account provides exclusive investment opportunities in Naya Pakistan certificates offering attractive returns in both conventional and Shariah-compliant forms, as well as the Pakistani stock market and real estate. The tax treatment is simple, freeing overseas Pakistanis from the need to file a tax return in Pakistan on income derived from investments through the account. Importantly, the account is fully repatriable, giving overseas Pakistanis the comfort of being able to remit the money in their accounts back to where they live without any difficulty.