LAHORE: Monthly inflows under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) programme have nearly doubled from a low of $161 million recorded in July 2024 to $321m in April 2026, reflecting a considerable increase in overseas investment and remittance.

While the growth trajectory has not been linear, inflows gathered significant momentum from January 2026 onward, coinciding with the government’s announcement of “RDA 2.0” and the expansion of the programme to include foreign nationals and institutional investors.

According to a report of Pakistan Banks Association (PBA), in April 2026, overseas Pakistanis and international investors channeled $321m into Pakistan through the RDA in a single month. That is an 81 percent increase over April 2025. It is also the highest monthly figure since the programme launched in September 2020.

Total cumulative inflows now stand at $12.75 billion, with nearly 1m accounts opened.

The association says that as Pakistan ranks 5th globally in remittance receipts, the programme is still accelerating with remittance of $321m by the overseas Pakistanis and international investors to Pakistan through the RDA in April 2026, reflecting an 81pc increase, compared to the same month last year.

The inflow was the highest monthly amount recorded since the launch of the programme in September 2020, underscoring the continued confidence among overseas Pakistanis in the country’s banking and investment channels.

The inflows from overseas Pakistanis continue to play a key role in supporting the country’s external account position.

Officials say the RDA programme is maintaining a strong momentum amid rising participation from expatriates and international investors. The programme gives eligible investors access to Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs), sovereign instruments issued by the government and administered by the SBP. These are not corporate bonds and not bank deposits. These are direct sovereign obligations of the Government of Pakistan, available in local, US, British and European currencies, fully repatriable, and accessible entirely digitally from anywhere in the world.

The current 12-month profit rates, effective from March 27, 2026, are highlighted in a graph in the report. Both conventional and Shariah-compliant (INPC) options are available at identical rates. A flat 10pc withholding tax applies to profits.

For non-resident Pakistani investors, this is a full and final tax settlement. No return filing required. In ten sovereign and fixed-income benchmarks across five currency zones, the picture is consistent, as in US dollar terms, the 12 month US Treasury Bill currently yields 3.76pc (Federal Reserve H.15, May 7, 2026). The NPC at 7.25pc represents a 349 bps point gross premium.

Even after applying the 10pc withholding tax, the net return of 6.53pc is 277 bps above the US sovereign benchmark.The most significant to explain, the PBA says that of the $12.75 billion received since launch, $8.15bn, or 64pc of everything ever remitted into RDA, has been deployed locally into Pakistan’s economy.

Only $2.06bn, 16pc of total receipts, has been repatriated by investors. The net repatriable liability stands at $2.54bn.

“Investors are not parking money temporarily, as they are keeping it in Pakistan, deploying it, and coming back with more. That is confidence of a different quality,” the PBA says.

As the RDA is one of the few instruments where the interests of the individual investor and the interests of the national economy are genuinely aligned, it has strong sovereign returns.

The country’s external account stabilisation depends on the continuation and growth of this programme. “Every dollar that flows through RDA and stays invested in Pakistan contributes directly to our FX [foreign] reserve strength, reduces pressure on the current account, and supports the macro-economic reform trajectory that the country has committed to,” the association states.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2026