Bangladesh Bank has started instant foreign currency transactions, from bank to bank, through online-based real time gross settlement (RTGS). Banks are primarily clearing and settling in US dollars, pounds, euros, Canadian dollars, and Japanese yen. Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder officially inaugurated the RTGS program at the headquarters of the central bank in Motijheel today (September 4, 2022). Deputy governors Ahmed Jamal and Kazi Sayedur Rahman, President of FBCCI Md. Jasim Uddin, MCCI president Saiful Islam, Chairman of Association of Bankers, Bangladesh Selim RF Hossain, and senior officials of the central bank, among others, were present at the event. Read: Banks instructed to campaign for bringing back laundered money Earlier, these five currencies – US dollar, British pound, euro, Canadian dollar, and Japanese yen – were settled in the traditional transaction system. In this method, banks use paper documents, and the bank officials settle the transaction. It was time-consuming and costly, said Md Serajul Islam, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank. From today (Sunday), banks will be able to settle transactions instantly without any hassle through the RTGS system, he said. The Chinese currency yuan can be traded against five foreign currencies. Bangladesh Bank issued a notification on August 28 to start instant foreign currency transactions through RTGS.

China's yuan strengthened against a basket of currencies last week, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS). The CFETS yuan exchange rate composite index, which measures the yuan's strength relative to a basket of currencies, edged up 0.21 points from the previous week to 105.08, according to the CFETS. Also Read: China to commit 1.5 bln yuan to initiate Kunming Biodiversity Fund: Xi The index compares the yuan with the value of 24 currencies, including the U.S. dollar, euro and Japanese yen. Last week also saw an index that measures the yuan against the Bank for International Settlements currency basket up 0.15 points from the previous week to 109.53. The index measuring the yuan against the Special Drawing Rights basket fell 0.02 points week on week to 102.95. Also Read: China's Single's Day sales hit 10 bln yuan in 96 seconds  

Airport Armed Police Battalion (AAP) members on Monday morning detained a man along with currencies of eight countries worth Tk 2.5 crore from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. The detainee was identified as Jahangir Gazi, 36. Read: Three held with Tk 8cr-worth liquid gold at Dhaka airport Additional Superintendent (media) of AAP  Md Jiaul Haque said tipped off, they detained Gazi right after he completed his boarding pass and initially recovered 50,000 Saudi Riyal from his possession. “Later we scanned all of his belongings and recovered the rest of the currencies,” he added.