RDA inflow down 15% in April as cumulative amount hits $4.17bn

Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA), a banking solution for Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), have fetched foreign currency inflows amounting to $4.17 billion by the end of April 2022, data shows, after an amount of $245 million was recorded during the month.

The figure in April, however, is a drop of over 15% month-on-month when compared with $290 million recorded in March.

According to statistics released by the central bank on Monday, out of the overall $4,167 million deposited in RDAs, $2,753 million or almost 66% have been invested in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPC), data shows. Out of the total amount invested in NPCs, $1,464 million have been invested in conventional NPCs, whereas $1,289 million have been invested in Islamic NPCs.

Roshan Digital Account: inflows cross $3.9bn, NPCs attract over two-thirds of total

Meanwhile, a meagre amount of $38 million -- i.e. 1% of the total funds -- has made its way into the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) through RDAs.

The central bank data also revealed 403,750 accounts have been opened so far across 175 countries during the 20-month period since the start of the initiative. On a monthly basis, the number of accounts opened increased by 4%.

RDA is an initiative of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and was launched in September 2020 by then prime minister Imran Khan. It allows overseas Pakistanis to open a bank account in the country in a completely digital manner, without needing to visit any bank branch or embassy.

Last month, SBP had denied social media posts that claimed large withdrawals were taking place from RDAs, following the ouster of Imran Khan as prime minister.