The Asian Clearing Union (ACU) was established on December 9, 1974, at the initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The primary objective of ACU, at the time of its establishment, was to secure regional co-operation regarding the clearing of eligible monetary transactions among the members of the Union to provide a system for clearing payments among the member countries on a multilateral basis.

Objectives

Settlement Process

Period: Bimonthly Settlement Payment Deadline: T+4

Currency Swap Arrangements

Eligibility: Any participant in net deficit Time of request: Before the end of a settlement period Amount: 20% of the average gross payments (ACU dollar/euro/yen accounts collectively) made by every eligible participant Rate: linear interpolation of Chicago Mercantile Exchange: CME SOFR one month and three month for US Dollar, the EURIBOR two month for Euro, two month LIBOR declared by the ICE for Japanese Yen Benefits:

Units of Accounts

AMU: Asian Monetary Units (viz. ACU dollar, ACU euro, and ACU yen), The AMUs are denominated as ACU dollar, ACU euro, and ACU yen which are equivalent in value to 1 USD, 1 Euro, and 1 JPY, respectively.

Interest

Exchange Rate

The SDR cross-rates which are quoted by the IMF on a daily basis are applied as a reference rate.

Benefits of Becoming a Member

Members

Currently 2024, the members of ACU are the central banks of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. The central banking authorities of member countries have issued detailed instructions and modalities for channeling the monetary transactions through the ACU. Membership in the ACU is open to central banks located in the geographical area of ESCAP and non-ESCAP.

Eligible transactions

All eligible transactions between member countries are required to be cleared through the Asian Clearing Union. The monetary transactions eligible to be settled through the Asian Clearing Union include the following:

Instruments of Payment

All instruments of payment denominated in AMUs (ACU dollar, ACU euro, and ACU yen), may be used to effect payment through the clearing facility.

Figures

Transactions channeled through the ACU mechanism in 2021 amounted to 29 billion USD.