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RDA inflows rise to $13.906 billion in Aug
By Bibi Masooma
Real Estate Analyst
6 min read
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News
By Bibi Masooma
Real Estate Analyst
6 min read
News
By Bibi Masooma
Real Estate Analyst
6 min read
Inflows under Pakistan's Roshan Digital Account (RDA) scheme climbed to $13.906 billion by the end of August 2026, up from $13.647 billion at the close of July, according to the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The steady rise keeps RDA on track toward the $14 billion mark within the next month or two, cementing its position as one of the most consistent channels of foreign exchange inflow into Pakistan since the scheme's launch in 2020.
The RDA received $259 million in new inflows during August 2026 alone. That figure came in lower than the $282 million recorded in July and the $306 million recorded in June, marking the second consecutive month of declining monthly inflows. On a month-on-month basis, this represented roughly an 8 percent drop from July's total.
Despite this short-term slowdown, the August figure still marked a sharp year-on-year increase of 58 percent compared to the $164 million deposited in August 2025. That gap between the strong annual comparison and the softer sequential trend is worth sitting with: it suggests the scheme's underlying diaspora participation has grown substantially over the past year, even as the pace of fresh monthly deposits has eased somewhat through the summer months of 2026.
Account registrations kept pace with the cumulative growth in deposits. The number of RDA accounts rose by 9,354 during the month, taking the total to 966,144 by the end of August, up from 956,790 in July. That is a smaller increase than the 10,589 new accounts added in July, but it still points to continued, if slightly decelerating, interest from overseas Pakistanis in opening new accounts under the scheme.
By the end of August, overseas Pakistanis had invested $716 million in conventional Naya Pakistan Certificates and $1.332 billion in Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates, alongside $155 million in Roshan Equity Investment. These certificate and equity products remain the primary channels through which RDA holders convert deposits into longer-term, government-linked investment instruments, rather than simply holding cash balances in their accounts.
The relative weighting toward Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates over the conventional variant — nearly double the invested amount continues a pattern seen in earlier months, and reflects a preference among a large share of overseas Pakistanis for Sharia-compliant investment products when given the choice.
On the liabilities side, cumulative repatriations and local utilisation by RDA holders reached roughly $10.90 billion, made up of about $2.13 billion repatriated abroad and $8.77 billion used within Pakistan. During August specifically, RDA holders repatriated $12 million and used a further $164 million locally, according to SBP figures. This left a Net Repatriable Liability (NRL) of around $3.009 billion, equivalent to about 21.6 percent of total RDA inflows a ratio that has stayed broadly consistent in recent months, suggesting the bulk of deposited funds continue to remain invested domestically rather than flowing back out of the country. The NRL itself rose by roughly $84 million during August, a reminder that even as gross inflows slow slightly, the pool of funds still available for potential repatriation continues to build.
Two consecutive months of falling gross inflows from $306 million in June, to $282 million in July, to $259 million in August point to a mild cooling in fresh monthly deposits even as the cumulative total keeps climbing toward new highs. This is a distinction worth keeping in mind when reading headline totals: the stock of money in the scheme is still growing, but the flow of new money coming in each month has softened for two months running.
What is driving that softening isn't clear from the SBP data alone. Possible explanations include seasonal factors around the middle of the calendar year, shifting return expectations on Naya Pakistan Certificates relative to alternative investment options available to the diaspora, or broader global conditions affecting how much disposable income overseas Pakistanis are channeling into investment versus other uses. Whether the slowdown continues, stabilises, or reverses will likely become clearer only once September and October data are released in the coming weeks.
RDA was launched by the State Bank of Pakistan in September 2020, in collaboration with commercial banks operating in Pakistan, to give Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC) holders, a way to bank, invest, and transact remotely without needing to be physically present in the country. The scheme offers services spanning remittances, housing and auto financing, investment in government certificates, stock exchange participation, and charitable giving.
Its growth trajectory has been striking. The scheme attracted just $7 million in its first month before rising steadily: it crossed the $2 billion mark within its first year by August 2021, reached roughly $5 billion by August 2022, and passed the $11 billion mark in October 2025. From there it climbed further to $13.647 billion by July 2026, and now stands at $13.906 billion as of the end of August 2026 a trajectory that has made RDA one of the more durable and predictable channels of foreign exchange inflow into the country.
Policymakers have periodically noted that RDA inflows, taken cumulatively, have at times exceeded inflows the country has received through some multilateral and bilateral sources over comparable periods, underscoring the scheme's growing significance to Pakistan's external account position. The SBP has also signalled ongoing efforts to widen the scheme's scope, including plans for a Roshan Business Account aimed at overseas Pakistanis doing business and making investments in the country, alongside expanded participation from banks to broaden the range of countries and services covered under RDA.
With cumulative inflows now within striking distance of the $14 billion mark, the next few monthly data releases from the SBP will be worth watching closely for two things: whether the recent softening in gross monthly inflows persists or reverses, and whether the Net Repatriable Liability continues its gradual climb as a share of total inflows. Both figures offer a more granular read on diaspora sentiment than the cumulative headline number alone, and will shape how analysts read the health of this channel heading into the final quarter of 2026.
Inflows under Pakistan's Roshan Digital Account (RDA) scheme climbed to $13.906 billion by the end of August 2026, up from $13.647 billion at the close of July, according to the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The steady rise keeps RDA on track toward the $14 billion mark within the next month or two, cementing its position as one of the most consistent channels of foreign exchange inflow into Pakistan since the scheme's launch in 2020.
The RDA received $259 million in new inflows during August 2026 alone. That figure came in lower than the $282 million recorded in July and the $306 million recorded in June, marking the second consecutive month of declining monthly inflows. On a month-on-month basis, this represented roughly an 8 percent drop from July's total.
Despite this short-term slowdown, the August figure still marked a sharp year-on-year increase of 58 percent compared to the $164 million deposited in August 2025. That gap between the strong annual comparison and the softer sequential trend is worth sitting with: it suggests the scheme's underlying diaspora participation has grown substantially over the past year, even as the pace of fresh monthly deposits has eased somewhat through the summer months of 2026.
Account registrations kept pace with the cumulative growth in deposits. The number of RDA accounts rose by 9,354 during the month, taking the total to 966,144 by the end of August, up from 956,790 in July. That is a smaller increase than the 10,589 new accounts added in July, but it still points to continued, if slightly decelerating, interest from overseas Pakistanis in opening new accounts under the scheme.
By the end of August, overseas Pakistanis had invested $716 million in conventional Naya Pakistan Certificates and $1.332 billion in Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates, alongside $155 million in Roshan Equity Investment. These certificate and equity products remain the primary channels through which RDA holders convert deposits into longer-term, government-linked investment instruments, rather than simply holding cash balances in their accounts.
The relative weighting toward Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates over the conventional variant — nearly double the invested amount continues a pattern seen in earlier months, and reflects a preference among a large share of overseas Pakistanis for Sharia-compliant investment products when given the choice.
On the liabilities side, cumulative repatriations and local utilisation by RDA holders reached roughly $10.90 billion, made up of about $2.13 billion repatriated abroad and $8.77 billion used within Pakistan. During August specifically, RDA holders repatriated $12 million and used a further $164 million locally, according to SBP figures. This left a Net Repatriable Liability (NRL) of around $3.009 billion, equivalent to about 21.6 percent of total RDA inflows a ratio that has stayed broadly consistent in recent months, suggesting the bulk of deposited funds continue to remain invested domestically rather than flowing back out of the country. The NRL itself rose by roughly $84 million during August, a reminder that even as gross inflows slow slightly, the pool of funds still available for potential repatriation continues to build.
Two consecutive months of falling gross inflows from $306 million in June, to $282 million in July, to $259 million in August point to a mild cooling in fresh monthly deposits even as the cumulative total keeps climbing toward new highs. This is a distinction worth keeping in mind when reading headline totals: the stock of money in the scheme is still growing, but the flow of new money coming in each month has softened for two months running.
What is driving that softening isn't clear from the SBP data alone. Possible explanations include seasonal factors around the middle of the calendar year, shifting return expectations on Naya Pakistan Certificates relative to alternative investment options available to the diaspora, or broader global conditions affecting how much disposable income overseas Pakistanis are channeling into investment versus other uses. Whether the slowdown continues, stabilises, or reverses will likely become clearer only once September and October data are released in the coming weeks.
RDA was launched by the State Bank of Pakistan in September 2020, in collaboration with commercial banks operating in Pakistan, to give Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC) holders, a way to bank, invest, and transact remotely without needing to be physically present in the country. The scheme offers services spanning remittances, housing and auto financing, investment in government certificates, stock exchange participation, and charitable giving.
Its growth trajectory has been striking. The scheme attracted just $7 million in its first month before rising steadily: it crossed the $2 billion mark within its first year by August 2021, reached roughly $5 billion by August 2022, and passed the $11 billion mark in October 2025. From there it climbed further to $13.647 billion by July 2026, and now stands at $13.906 billion as of the end of August 2026 a trajectory that has made RDA one of the more durable and predictable channels of foreign exchange inflow into the country.
Policymakers have periodically noted that RDA inflows, taken cumulatively, have at times exceeded inflows the country has received through some multilateral and bilateral sources over comparable periods, underscoring the scheme's growing significance to Pakistan's external account position. The SBP has also signalled ongoing efforts to widen the scheme's scope, including plans for a Roshan Business Account aimed at overseas Pakistanis doing business and making investments in the country, alongside expanded participation from banks to broaden the range of countries and services covered under RDA.
With cumulative inflows now within striking distance of the $14 billion mark, the next few monthly data releases from the SBP will be worth watching closely for two things: whether the recent softening in gross monthly inflows persists or reverses, and whether the Net Repatriable Liability continues its gradual climb as a share of total inflows. Both figures offer a more granular read on diaspora sentiment than the cumulative headline number alone, and will shape how analysts read the health of this channel heading into the final quarter of 2026.
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