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State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is fully committed to facilitating overseas Pakistanis to remain financially connected with their homeland, SBP Acting Governor Dr Murtaza Syed has said.
Speaking to community members about IMF negotiations, Pakistan’s current economic situation, and the Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) initiative, Dr Syed said SBP was committed to making the RDA project work efficiently and mature further in the years ahead.
“Roshan Digital Accounts project is not going anywhere as a large number of overseas Pakistanis are benefiting from it and the government is getting the much-needed foreign exchange reserves. Total inflows have surpassed $4.2 billion,” said Dr Syed, while refuting media news that recent change of government might have a negative impact on this programme.
He noted that overseas Pakistanis have always made Pakistan proud through their achievements and dedication to their motherland.
“The country needs more investments from abroad to fund the current account deficit and raise foreign exchange reserves. There is need to spread awareness about RDA project among those who have not yet availed themselves of this facility.”
He said a complaint portal would be launched soon to address the issues faced by the account holders. A recent survey which involved 10,000 account holders showed that 80 percent of them were satisfied with RDA.
He further observed that there is always a room for improvement and some important measures will be taken to live up to the expectations of the Pakistani diaspora.
The response of overseas Pakistanis has been very encouraging ever since the government launched the RDA project in September 2020. This is a major initiative of the State Bank of Pakistan in collaboration with commercial banks of Pakistan.
For the first time in Pakistan’s history, NRPs have been provided an opportunity to remotely open accounts in Pakistan’s banks through an entirely digital process without any need to visit a bank.
Opening of the account only requires a basic set of information and documents such as Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) or Pakistan Origin Card (POC). Applicants also need to provide copy of Pakistani or foreign passport, proof of non-resident status, profession and source of income.
The RDA fully integrates the Pakistani diaspora with Pakistan’s banking and payment system by providing digital access to all conventional account services including funds transfer, bills and fee payments and e-commerce.
Besides allowing investment in Pakistan’s stock market, the RDA also enables investments by NRPs in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) issued by the Government of Pakistan, in both USD and PKR, at very attractive and risk-free rates and in both conventional and Shariah-compliant forms.
The customer can choose either a foreign currency or rupee-denominated account, or both.
For NRPs, these accounts would be interoperable and enable real-time online conversion from foreign currency to Pakistani Rupees and vice versa. Funds in these accounts are fully repatriable, without the need for any approval of any regulatory body.
On the other hand, RDA Roshan Apna Ghar financing facility enables overseas Pakistanis to invest in residential real estate in Pakistan.
Families of NRPs can get cars at cheaper rates under Roshan Apni Car (RAC) and through Roshan Samaaji Khidmat (RSK) scheme, RDA holders can give their charity, donations and Zakat (alms-giving) to Pakistan’s major charitable organisations.
Dr Syed was part of a Pakistani delegation headed by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, which was in Doha to hold 7th Economic Review Talks with International Monetary Fund Mission.
Dr Syed has more than 20 years of experience in macroeconomic research and policy making. He worked with the IMF for 16 years before resigning to join the SBP.
He said it was wrong to draw a parallel between Sri Lanka and Pakistan economy. “Pakistan’s economy is on strong footings and Pakistan has great strengths to overcome challenges. Our economy has witnessed 6 per growth despite challenges posed by COVID-19. Pakistan’s GDP was 5.7 percent last year. Pakistan is out of economic crisis. We already have an IMF programme whereas Sri Lanka does not have one. We are only in the process of reviewing our programme and we don’t need to redesign it,” asserted Dr Syed who assumed the position of acting governor after the term of Dr Reza Baqir (former governor of SBP) ended on May 4.
He said Pakistan’s handling of COVID-19 pandemic has won world-wide praise. Various measures by SBP and the government placed the economy on a stronger footing and helped to combat the pandemic and safeguard common people and businesses.
Dr Syed and SBP Executive Director Arshad Mehmood Bhatti answered queries related to RDA during a question-answer session with community members.
Pakistan Ambassador HE Syed Ahsan Raza Shah also spoke on the occasion.
Speaking to community members about IMF negotiations, Pakistan’s current economic situation, and the Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) initiative, Dr Syed said SBP was committed to making the RDA project work efficiently and mature further in the years ahead.
“Roshan Digital Accounts project is not going anywhere as a large number of overseas Pakistanis are benefiting from it and the government is getting the much-needed foreign exchange reserves. Total inflows have surpassed $4.2 billion,” said Dr Syed, while refuting media news that recent change of government might have a negative impact on this programme.
He noted that overseas Pakistanis have always made Pakistan proud through their achievements and dedication to their motherland.
“The country needs more investments from abroad to fund the current account deficit and raise foreign exchange reserves. There is need to spread awareness about RDA project among those who have not yet availed themselves of this facility.”
He said a complaint portal would be launched soon to address the issues faced by the account holders. A recent survey which involved 10,000 account holders showed that 80 percent of them were satisfied with RDA.
He further observed that there is always a room for improvement and some important measures will be taken to live up to the expectations of the Pakistani diaspora.
The response of overseas Pakistanis has been very encouraging ever since the government launched the RDA project in September 2020. This is a major initiative of the State Bank of Pakistan in collaboration with commercial banks of Pakistan.
For the first time in Pakistan’s history, NRPs have been provided an opportunity to remotely open accounts in Pakistan’s banks through an entirely digital process without any need to visit a bank.
Opening of the account only requires a basic set of information and documents such as Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) or Pakistan Origin Card (POC). Applicants also need to provide copy of Pakistani or foreign passport, proof of non-resident status, profession and source of income.
The RDA fully integrates the Pakistani diaspora with Pakistan’s banking and payment system by providing digital access to all conventional account services including funds transfer, bills and fee payments and e-commerce.
Besides allowing investment in Pakistan’s stock market, the RDA also enables investments by NRPs in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) issued by the Government of Pakistan, in both USD and PKR, at very attractive and risk-free rates and in both conventional and Shariah-compliant forms.
The customer can choose either a foreign currency or rupee-denominated account, or both.
For NRPs, these accounts would be interoperable and enable real-time online conversion from foreign currency to Pakistani Rupees and vice versa. Funds in these accounts are fully repatriable, without the need for any approval of any regulatory body.
On the other hand, RDA Roshan Apna Ghar financing facility enables overseas Pakistanis to invest in residential real estate in Pakistan.
Families of NRPs can get cars at cheaper rates under Roshan Apni Car (RAC) and through Roshan Samaaji Khidmat (RSK) scheme, RDA holders can give their charity, donations and Zakat (alms-giving) to Pakistan’s major charitable organisations.
Dr Syed was part of a Pakistani delegation headed by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, which was in Doha to hold 7th Economic Review Talks with International Monetary Fund Mission.
Dr Syed has more than 20 years of experience in macroeconomic research and policy making. He worked with the IMF for 16 years before resigning to join the SBP.
He said it was wrong to draw a parallel between Sri Lanka and Pakistan economy. “Pakistan’s economy is on strong footings and Pakistan has great strengths to overcome challenges. Our economy has witnessed 6 per growth despite challenges posed by COVID-19. Pakistan’s GDP was 5.7 percent last year. Pakistan is out of economic crisis. We already have an IMF programme whereas Sri Lanka does not have one. We are only in the process of reviewing our programme and we don’t need to redesign it,” asserted Dr Syed who assumed the position of acting governor after the term of Dr Reza Baqir (former governor of SBP) ended on May 4.
He said Pakistan’s handling of COVID-19 pandemic has won world-wide praise. Various measures by SBP and the government placed the economy on a stronger footing and helped to combat the pandemic and safeguard common people and businesses.
Dr Syed and SBP Executive Director Arshad Mehmood Bhatti answered queries related to RDA during a question-answer session with community members.
Pakistan Ambassador HE Syed Ahsan Raza Shah also spoke on the occasion.
