KARACHI: Overseas Pakistanis have remitted $7.7 million, highest-ever daily amount, into the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) on November 9, 2020, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported Thursday.
The RDA is a major initiative of the State Bank, in collaboration with commercial banks operating in Pakistan. The RDA is a special account for Non-Resident Pakistanis that can be opened and operated worldwide. Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the RDA in September this year to facilitate overseas Pakistanis for banking and investment in Pakistan.
The SBP is making serious efforts to promote awareness on the RDA among overseas Pakistanis and a series of webinars, in collaboration with different partners, is being organized by SBP to attract more accounts.
Overseas Pakistani are also showing interest in the RDA as it provides innovative banking solutions to Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), seeking to undertake banking, payment and investment activities in Pakistan.
According to State Bank inward remittances from overseas Pakistanis into the RDA are gradually increasing and single day inflows rose to $7.7 million - the highest ever daily amount.
Overall, total inward remittances into RDA have reached $139.4 million since the launch of the account. Out of these inflows, overseas Pakistanis have invested some $81 million in Naya Pakistan Certificates, the SBP reported.
Presently, some eight leading Pakistani banks including United Bank, Bank Alfalah, Faysal Bank, Habib Bank, MCB, Meezan Bank, Samba Bank and Standard Chartered are providing RDA facility.
Sources said that most of NRPs are preferring to open the RDA in Islamic banking as account wise Meezan Bank is ranked one with 8700 Roshan Digital Accounts during the last three months. Overall, Meezan Bank attracted deposits of $31 million. They said that inflows under the RDA are supporting exchange rate and helping to build the country foreign exchange reserves.
The RDA also enabled NRPs to invest in the Government of Pakistan's Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) and Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates issued in USD and PKR. The NPC is a very attractive risk-free investment opportunity for NRPs.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020