Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates are the Government of Pakistan's Shariah-compliant savings instrument for the diaspora, sold digitally through Roshan Digital Accounts. They pay expected profit rates of 11.75% to 12.75% in rupees and 6.75% to 7.75% in US dollars (as displayed by the State Bank on August 3, 2026), across tenors from three months to five years. And the market has voted: of all Naya Pakistan Certificate money outstanding at June 2026, USD 1,259 million sat in the Islamic version against USD 642 million in the conventional one. Two thirds of NPC investors chose halal.
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The structure: a sovereign Mudarabah on top of an Ijarah
INPCs are issued under a Shariah structure notified by the Finance Division under the NPC Rules 2020. A special purpose vehicle, Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificate Company Limited (INPCCL), is registered with the SECP, wholly owned by the Government of Pakistan, and housed and managed by the State Bank. You invest on a Mudarabah basis: you are the Rabb-ul-Maal (capital provider), the SPV is the Mudarib (manager). The SPV then provides your funds to the Federal Government on an Ijarah (leasing) basis. The structure was approved by the State Bank's Shariah Advisory Committee, and the SPV retains its own Shariah advisor for ongoing compliance. Separate Mudarabah pools run for each currency, with profit-sharing ratios and tenor weightages published and updated monthly.
The rates, and why the word 'expected' matters
As displayed on SBP's page on August 3, 2026, expected annualized rates by tenor (3 months / 6 months / 12 months / 3 years / 5 years): PKR 11.75 / 12.00 / 12.25 / 12.50 / 12.75%. USD 6.75 / 7.00 / 7.25 / 7.50 / 7.75%. GBP 6.75 / 7.25 / 7.50 / 7.75 / 8.00%. EUR 4.75 / 5.25 / 5.50 / 6.00 / 6.25%. SAR and AED both 6.50 to 7.50%. The schedules match the conventional NPC, but the SBP's own note draws the line: for Islamic certificates, 'actual profit rates will be calculated in line with the Islamic principle of Mudarabah, based on the actual financials of the month.' The published number is a target from a real profit pool, not a contractual guarantee, and that distinction is exactly what makes the instrument permissible.
Minimums, eligibility and how to buy
Minimums are PKR 10,000 (in multiples of 1,000) for rupee certificates and 1,000 currency units (in multiples of 500) for USD, GBP and EUR, with no maximum. Eligible investors: non-resident Pakistanis holding a Pakistani passport, NICOP or POC; resident Pakistanis with declared foreign assets; and non-resident foreign nationals under the RDA expansion. Purchase is fully digital through an Islamic Roshan Digital Account at agent banks; the SBP's agent list spans sixteen banks including Meezan, Dubai Islamic, Bank AL Habib, Bank Alfalah, HBL, UBL, MCB, Standard Chartered and Faysal. Cross-border transfer charges typically run five to nine dollars through the special arrangements banks maintain.
Tax: 10% and you are done
Profit on INPCs carries a 10% withholding tax as full and final settlement of the tax liability. A non-resident whose only Pakistan-source income is INPC profit does not need to file a Pakistani tax return at all. For overseas Pakistanis used to wrestling with dual-jurisdiction paperwork, this is one of the instrument's most underrated features (your tax residence abroad may still tax the income; check locally). Coupon-bearing tenors pay profit six-monthly; payments credit only to your own Islamic RDA.
Getting out early: the encashment rules
No encashment is allowed in the first month. Between one and three months, you are paid based on the pool's actual return, with the SPV repurchasing at a discount per a notified redemption table. After three months, profit is recalculated at the weightage of the nearest completed tenor: a 3-year certificate encashed at month ten earns 6-month weightages, with earlier higher-weightage coupons clawed back through a purchase-price discount. The design rewards holding to maturity; treat INPCs as term savings, not a checking balance.
Two housekeeping details help at maturity. Payments land only in your own Islamic RDA, and if a payment date falls on a holiday it rolls to the next working day without profit accruing for the gap. On death, principal and profit pass to legal heirs against a succession certificate, so keep your documentation and nominee details current with your agent bank.
How INPC compares to the alternatives
Against Islamic money market funds (9% to 10.4% in FY26), the PKR INPC's 11.75% to 12.75% expected rates are higher, sovereign-backed and tax-simpler, but less liquid. Against keeping dollars abroad, the USD INPC's 6.75% to 7.75% is compelling on rate, with the risk being Pakistan sovereign exposure, which is the whole point of the program. Residents without foreign assets cannot buy INPCs; their government-backed halal option is National Savings' Sarwa Islamic accounts, quoted at 11.10% to 11.52% in July 2026. All the alternatives sit on the HalalWallet investing hub.
Frequently asked questions
Are INPC returns guaranteed? No, and this is by design. Returns come from an actual monthly Mudarabah pool with published profit-sharing ratios and weightages; the advertised rates are expectations. In practice the program has paid in line with expectations, but the legal and Shariah character is profit-sharing, not a promised interest rate.
What is the difference between Islamic and conventional NPCs? Same expected rates, different contract. Conventional NPCs are a debt obligation of the government paying interest; INPCs route through the INPCCL SPV as Mudarabah, deployed to the government on Ijarah, with SBP Shariah Advisory Committee approval. Two thirds of NPC money has chosen the Islamic route.
Can residents of Pakistan buy INPCs? Only resident Pakistanis who have declared foreign assets held abroad. The program is built for foreign-currency inflows through Roshan Digital Accounts. Ordinary residents should look at Sarwa Islamic accounts or Islamic money market funds instead.
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What happens to my certificates if I die? Principal and profit are paid to your legal heirs against a succession certificate or equivalent documentation, consistent with Islamic inheritance obligations. Keeping your RDA bank informed of nominee and heir details speeds the process.
Is my money safe given Pakistan's economy? INPCs are direct sovereign exposure in your chosen currency; the government has serviced the program since 2020, with USD 13.4 billion of cumulative RDA inflows by June 2026. Rate levels reflect that risk. Size the allocation as you would any single-country sovereign holding.