Euro and Yen can now be used to make settlements under the Asian Clearing Union alongside the US dollar in a development that is set to bring some cheer to exporters who had to suffer for currency conversion losses.

The ACU is a payment arrangement under which transactions between nine member countries -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka -- are settled.

Membership in the ACU, which was established in 1974, is open to central banks located in the geographical area of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Initially the unit of settlement of ACU transactions was the US dollar and Euro. But on July 27, 2016, settlement by way of Euro was temporarily suspended.

It has now been resumed and the Japanese Yen added as another unit of settlement.

All scheduled banks have been advised to immediately resume transactions in 'ACU  Euro'  to  settle  current  account transactions among the member countries, said a notice from the Bangladesh Bank yesterday.  “Bangladeshi businessmen will get relief from currency conversion losses,” said a BB official.