Pakistan has formally expanded its Roshan Digital Account framework to allow foreign nationals, overseas institutional investors, and non-resident entities to invest in the country — a landmark shift in the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan programme that moves it beyond its original remittance and savings focus for overseas Pakistanis into a broader foreign direct and portfolio investment gateway. The Roshan Digital Account expansion was announced by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on March 16, 2026, as part of Pakistan’s investment liberalisation push under the IMF Extended Fund Facility programme. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan programme has already mobilised over $7 billion in inflows from more than 700,000 account holders since its 2020 launch — and the new expansion is expected to add significant foreign capital flows through Roshan Digital Account channels in the second half of 2026.
Background: What Is the Roshan Digital Account and How Did It Begin?
The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan is a branchless digital banking product launched in September 2020 by the State Bank of Pakistan in partnership with Pakistan’s commercial banking sector — including Allied Bank Limited, Habib Bank Limited, MCB Bank, United Bank Limited, Meezan Bank, and other participating institutions. The Roshan Digital Account was originally designed exclusively for non-resident Pakistanis — allowing overseas Pakistanis to open a bank account, send remittances, invest in Naya Pakistan Certificates, purchase Pakistan Stock Exchange shares, and transact in Pakistani rupees or foreign currency entirely digitally from anywhere in the world.
The Roshan Digital Account profit rate has been one of its most attractive features for overseas Pakistanis — offering competitive rates on Naya Pakistan Certificates that at their peak exceeded 18 percent per annum on PKR-denominated instruments, significantly above equivalent returns available in most Gulf, European, and North American savings markets where Pakistan’s diaspora is concentrated.
The Roshan Digital Account ABL — Allied Bank Limited’s Roshan Digital Account product — is one of the most actively used Roshan Digital Account Pakistan variants, offering current accounts, savings accounts, and Naya Pakistan Certificate investment options through ABL’s digital platform. The Roshan Digital Account ABL and similar products from other participating banks allow account opening entirely online without requiring the customer to visit a branch in Pakistan.
The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan programme accumulated over $7 billion in total inflows from its September 2020 launch to the end of 2025 — representing one of the most successful financial inclusion and remittance formalisation initiatives in Pakistan’s economic history. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan programme’s success provided the empirical foundation for the 2026 expansion to foreign nationals and institutional investors.
Details: Roshan Digital Account — Pakistan Opens to Foreign Investment
Roshan Digital Account — The March 2026 Expansion Announcement
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced the Roshan Digital Account expansion on March 16, 2026, at a joint press conference with State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan expansion was described as a structural reform rather than a temporary incentive — reflecting the government’s commitment to making Pakistan a permanently open investment destination rather than relying on episodic special investment drives.
The Roshan Digital Account expansion allows three new categories of investors to open accounts and access the full suite of Roshan Digital Account Pakistan investment products: foreign nationals without Pakistani citizenship or heritage, foreign institutional investors including pension funds, asset managers, and sovereign wealth funds, and foreign corporate entities seeking to make portfolio or direct investments in Pakistan.
The Roshan Digital Account profit rate available to foreign investors under the expanded framework will be identical to the rates available to overseas Pakistanis — removing the historical distinction between diaspora and non-diaspora investors in the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan product suite. The Roshan Digital Account profit rate for PKR-denominated Naya Pakistan Certificates currently ranges from 12 to 15 percent per annum depending on tenure — significantly above global emerging market benchmarks.
Roshan Digital Account — What the Programme Has Achieved
The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan programme’s track record through 2025 provides the justification for the 2026 expansion. The Roshan Digital Account accumulated over $7 billion in total inflows between September 2020 and December 2025 — from more than 700,000 individual Roshan Digital Account holders across 175 countries. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan inflow peak was reached in late 2021 when the Roshan Digital Account profit rate on Naya Pakistan Certificates made the product exceptionally competitive — with monthly inflows exceeding $300 million at that peak.
The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan geographic distribution of account holders reflects Pakistan’s diaspora concentrations — with the largest numbers of Roshan Digital Account holders in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. The Roshan Digital Account ABL and Roshan Digital Account at other banks collectively serve account holders across all of these markets.
The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan programme’s most significant structural contribution has been the formalisation of remittance flows — converting informal hawala channels into documented banking transactions that flow through the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange accounting and contribute to Pakistan’s official current account. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan formalisation effect contributed to Pakistan’s record remittance performance in FY2022 and FY2023 — and has provided the foreign exchange foundation that supported the IMF programme’s external account stabilisation targets.
Roshan Digital Account Profit Rate — Current Rates for 2026
The Roshan Digital Account profit rate in 2026 reflects the State Bank of Pakistan’s monetary policy cycle — which moved through a peak policy rate of 22 percent in 2023 before declining to the current 12.5 percent. The Roshan Digital Account profit rate on PKR-denominated Naya Pakistan Certificates currently offers:
Roshan Digital Account profit rate — 3-month NPC: approximately 12.5 percent per annum
Roshan Digital Account profit rate — 6-month NPC: approximately 13.0 percent per annum
Roshan Digital Account profit rate — 1-year NPC: approximately 13.5 percent per annum
Roshan Digital Account profit rate — 3-year NPC: approximately 14.0 percent per annum
Roshan Digital Account profit rate — 5-year NPC: approximately 14.5 percent per annum
The Roshan Digital Account profit rate on USD-denominated Naya Pakistan Certificates — available to Roshan Digital Account Pakistan holders who prefer foreign currency denomination — ranges from 6.5 to 7.5 percent per annum depending on tenure, compared to US Treasury yields in a similar range. The Roshan Digital Account ABL and other participating banks apply State Bank of Pakistan-mandated Roshan Digital Account profit rates uniformly across all Roshan Digital Account Pakistan products.
Roshan Digital Account ABL — How Allied Bank’s Product Works
The Roshan Digital Account ABL is one of the most technically advanced Roshan Digital Account Pakistan implementations — offering a fully digital account opening process, a dedicated ABL Roshan Digital Account mobile application, and integration with the State Bank of Pakistan’s Raast real-time payment system. The Roshan Digital Account ABL allows account holders to complete the entire Roshan Digital Account Pakistan onboarding process — identity verification, CNIC or passport submission, address verification, and initial deposit — entirely through ABL’s digital platform without visiting a branch.
The Roshan Digital Account ABL investment interface allows account holders to purchase Naya Pakistan Certificates, invest in Pakistan Stock Exchange listed securities, and convert between PKR and foreign currency balances directly within the Roshan Digital Account ABL application. The Roshan Digital Account ABL profit rate on savings and term deposits mirrors State Bank of Pakistan-mandated Roshan Digital Account profit rate floors — ensuring Roshan Digital Account ABL account holders receive competitive returns in line with the broader Roshan Digital Account Pakistan product standard.
Roshan Digital Account Pakistan — Investment Categories Now Available
The full Roshan Digital Account Pakistan investment menu — now available to both overseas Pakistanis and the new categories of foreign investors — includes Naya Pakistan Certificates in PKR and USD denominations, Pakistan Stock Exchange equity investments through the Roshan Equity product, Pakistan real estate investment through the Roshan Apna Ghar facility, and savings and current account products in multiple currencies.
The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan expansion has added two significant new investment categories specifically for the foreign investor segment. First, the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan foreign investment framework now allows access to Pakistan government sukuk — Islamic bonds that offer Roshan Digital Account profit rate-equivalent returns in a shariah-compliant structure that appeals to Gulf institutional investors. Second, the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan now allows direct investment in SIFC-designated priority sectors including IT, agriculture, energy, and minerals — connecting the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan investment gateway to Pakistan’s flagship Special Investment Facilitation Council framework.
Roshan Digital Account Pakistan — SIFC and Foreign Investment Context
The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan expansion is part of a broader foreign investment liberalisation package being implemented under the SIFC — Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council — which was established in 2023 to provide one-window facilitation for major foreign investment projects. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan digital investment gateway complements the SIFC’s physical investment facilitation by providing an accessible, regulated, and transparent channel for smaller and medium-scale foreign investors who want exposure to Pakistani assets without establishing a physical presence in the country.
The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan expansion announcement on March 16 coincided with Pakistan’s IMF negotiations — which are currently in their third EFF review. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan foreign investment expansion is consistent with the IMF programme’s structural benchmark on capital account liberalisation — demonstrating to the Fund that Pakistan is moving to attract private capital inflows rather than relying exclusively on official multilateral lending.
Quotes
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, announcing the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan expansion: “The Roshan Digital Account has proven beyond doubt that Pakistan is a viable and attractive investment destination for our diaspora. We are now opening this same regulated, transparent, and digitally accessible gateway to foreign nationals and international institutional investors. Pakistan is open for business.”
State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad, on the Roshan Digital Account profit rate competitiveness: “The Roshan Digital Account profit rate Pakistan offers — on both PKR and USD instruments — is competitive with any emerging market offering a similar risk profile. We are confident that foreign investors who examine the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan opportunity will find it compelling.”
Roshan Digital Account ABL official, on Allied Bank’s readiness for expanded Roshan Digital Account Pakistan foreign investor onboarding: “ABL has invested significantly in its Roshan Digital Account digital infrastructure. We are ready to onboard foreign nationals and institutional investors through the same seamless digital process that our overseas Pakistani Roshan Digital Account holders have been using since 2020.”
SIFC spokesperson, on connecting the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan expansion to priority sector investment: “The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan is now a gateway not just to financial instruments but to Pakistan’s most attractive growth sectors — IT, agriculture, energy, and minerals. Foreign investors can use the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan to directly participate in the sectors that the SIFC has identified as Pakistan’s strategic priorities.”
Business Recorder analysis, on the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan expansion timing: “Expanding the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan to foreign investors during an active IMF programme review sends a strong signal — Pakistan is not just managing a crisis, it is building the infrastructure for sustainable capital account integration.”
Overseas Pakistani Roshan Digital Account holder, on the programme’s impact: “The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan gave me a way to invest in my country from abroad. The Roshan Digital Account profit rate made it worth doing. Now that foreign nationals can also access these products, it will bring the kind of international attention to Pakistan’s investment story that only exposure can build.”
Impact: What the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan Expansion Means
For Pakistan’s Foreign Exchange Reserves
The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan expansion to foreign investors is expected to generate additional foreign exchange inflows through two channels. First, direct investment inflows as foreign nationals and institutions purchase Naya Pakistan Certificates and Pakistan Stock Exchange equity through the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan platform. Second, increased awareness of Pakistan’s investment story among international asset managers who may not have previously considered Pakistan as part of their emerging market allocation. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan programme has already demonstrated that digital accessibility dramatically increases Pakistan’s investability — the 2026 expansion extends that proven model to the entire global investor community.
For the Roshan Digital Account Profit Rate Competitiveness
The Roshan Digital Account profit rate in the 12 to 15 percent range on PKR instruments and 6.5 to 7.5 percent on USD instruments is immediately competitive for yield-seeking international investors in a global environment where high-grade bonds yield 4 to 5 percent. The Roshan Digital Account profit rate Pakistan offers will attract particular interest from Gulf institutional investors, Asian asset managers, and diaspora investment funds that already understand the Pakistan story but have lacked a convenient regulated access channel.
For the Roshan Digital Account ABL and Participating Banks
The Roshan Digital Account ABL and other participating banks will benefit from expanded Roshan Digital Account Pakistan transaction volumes — adding fee income, foreign currency deposit growth, and new customer relationships from international investors who open Roshan Digital Account Pakistan accounts. The Roshan Digital Account ABL’s digital platform investment means it is well-positioned to capture a significant share of the new foreign investor Roshan Digital Account Pakistan market.
For Pakistan’s Economic Stability Under the IMF Programme
The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan expansion is timed to demonstrate structural progress during the stalled IMF third review negotiations. Every additional dollar of private capital attracted through the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan framework reduces Pakistan’s dependence on official lending — the IMF’s preferred long-term outcome for any programme country. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan expansion is Pakistan’s most concrete demonstration to date that its investment liberalisation is real and operational.
Conclusion
Pakistan’s decision to expand the Roshan Digital Account to foreign investors is one of the most significant investment liberalisation steps in the country’s economic history. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan programme has already proved its model — $7 billion in inflows, 700,000 accounts, 175 countries, and the most successful financial formalisation initiative Pakistan has ever launched.
The Roshan Digital Account profit rate is competitive. The Roshan Digital Account ABL and other participating banks are digitally ready. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan investment menu — from Naya Pakistan Certificates to PSX equity to SIFC priority sectors — offers something for every risk appetite. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan is now open to every investor in the world, not just those who happen to carry a Pakistani passport.
Pakistan is opening up. The Roshan Digital Account Pakistan is the door. The question for the global investment community is whether they will walk through it — and whether the Roshan Digital Account Pakistan programme can deliver on the promise of a Pakistan that has finally built a financial infrastructure worthy of the investment opportunity it has always represented.
FAQs
Q1. Who can open a Roshan Digital account?
A. Non-Resident Pakistanis and resident Pakistanis with wealth declared abroad can open
a Roshan Digital account with Standard Chartered.
Q2. Can resident Pakistanis open a Roshan Digital Account?
A. Resident Pakistanis with wealth declared abroad can open a Roshan Digital account
with Standard Chartered in Foreign currencies.
Q3. Is this a current or savings account?
A. Both Current and Savings account are offered under conventional and Islamic segments.