Inflows under the Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) reached $4.356 billion at the end of May 2022, 21 months since the program was launched, said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday.
As per the SBP, an inflow of $189 million was recorded in May, a fall of 23% month-on-month when compared with the inflow of $245 million in April.
Inflows under RDA were recorded at $245 million in April, $290 million in March, and $250 million in February. The lower inflows could be attributed to multiple reasons including the global inflationary trend which hurt their purchasing power and savings as a result.
Meanwhile, a meager amount of $39 million, or 1% has made its way into the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) through RDAs.
The central bank data also says 416,837 accounts have been opened so far across 175 countries during the 21 months. Monthly, the number of accounts opened increased by 3%.
The uncertain economic situation in Pakistan has also shaken the confidence of the expatriate Pakistanis who were confused by the rumors circulating on social media about the freezing of foreign accounts and RDAs, which the government and the banking regulator refuted categorically.
Last year, RDA received inflows of $197 million in May 2021. In the subsequent months of the last year, RDA deposits witnessed handsome inflows of $310 million in June and $307 million in July, respectively
Roshan Digital Account: cumulative inflows reach $3.38 billion
The fall in reserves comes at a time when Pakistan remains engaged in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the revival of the stalled Extended Fund Facility. Its delay has pushed the currency to record lows and on Tuesday, the rupee even hit 203 against the US dollar during intra-day trading.
he inflows of RDA deposits might see an increase in the next two months following the trend of the last year on account of the seasonal increase ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
