KARACHI: Pakistan utilised 63 per cent of inflows it received through the Roshan Digital Acc­ount (RDA) by the end of Decem­ber 2024, reported the State Bank of Pakistan on Saturday.

Since the launch of RDA on Sept 10, 2020, the country has received over $9.34 billion, and $5.911 billion has been utilised, reveals the SBP data.

According to the SBP, the RDA inflows proved highly important for the government waiting for a $1bn tranche from the IMF, while it received over $2bn in the calendar year 2024. The data showed the government utilised $1.345bn from RDA inflows during 2024.

With the collaboration of commercial banks, the RDA facility allows Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs) to open a bank account in Pakistan digitally. The account can be used for banking, payments, and investments in Pakistan. The RDA can also be used to send foreign remittances to Pakistan.

Pakistan gets $9.3bn via Roshan Digital Account

With a 33pc surge in remittances during the first half of FY25, the government will likely meet the trade deficit and keep the current account in surplus during FY25. However, the foreign direct investment could not pick up pace as the FDI inflows were just $1.1bn in 5MFY25.

The RDA attracted overseas Pakistanis as it made it possible for the first time to allow them to open an account in a Pakistani bank entirely digitally in a presenceless manner without needing to visit any bank, embassy or consulates.

The SBP data further reveals that $1.7bn has been repatriated since RDA launching, while $1.73bn is still reparable. The rising number of accounts suggests many overseas Pakistanis are interested in RDA.

The SBP data shows that by the end of 2024, the number of accounts reached 778,713.

Bankers said the inflows in RDA during 2024 were higher than the previous year. They believe this was due to exch­a­n­­ge rate stability. The dollar rate had been steady at Rs278 for more than a year.

However, despite higher remi­ttances and improved exports, the RDA and FDI inflows cou­ldn’t support the country’s ability to meet its external debt repayment obligations without seeking support from the IMF and friendly countries.

Some bankers said the RDA proved a good source of foreign exchange for the government. They, however, observed that overseas Pakistanis have no confidence in investing in other financial products or sectors.

The overseas Pakistanis also like to see political stability while investing in housing and other such schemes, they believed. They said the RDA could not be an alternative to domestic bonds as it was before the year 2020, while the domestic bonds have now also lost attraction for foreign investors for many reasons.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2025