Bangladesh Bank Circulates Notes with New Signature

Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh, has officially commenced the circulation of newly printed legal tender bearing the signature of its current Governor, Mostaqur Rahman. Mr Rahman formally assumed the leadership of the monetary authority in February 2026.

The central bank confirmed that these newly signed banknotes were first introduced to the public on Monday, 18 May 2026. The initial distribution phase was restricted exclusively to the Bangladesh Bank’s principal office in the Motijheel commercial area of Dhaka. The administrative rollout will proceed sequentially, with the new notes being made available to all commercial banking institutions across the country in successive phases.

Operational Distribution and Design Continuity

According to the official statement released by the central bank’s communications department, the legal tender denominations currently featuring Governor Mostaqur Rahman’s signature are the Tk 10, Tk 500, and Tk 1,000 banknotes.

The monetary authority clarified that the printing of the Tk 20, Tk 50, and Tk 100 denominations under the new signatory regime will follow in subsequent production runs. Conversely, smaller-denomination treasury notes—specifically the Tk 1, Tk 2, and Tk 5 bills—have not yet been scheduled for production or distribution under this updated design cycle.

Officials emphasized that the incorporation of the new governor’s signature represents the sole modification made to the currency lines during this production run. All other physical characteristics, security parameters, and manufacturing specifications remain identical to the pre-existing circulating currency.

The specific design metrics that have been preserved without alteration include:

• The dimensional height, width, and thickness of each banknote.

• The distinctive colour palettes assigned to each specific denomination.

• The advanced security threads, embedded watermarks, and anti-counterfeiting features.

Context of the National Currency Redesign Program

This latest printing cycle follows a comprehensive structural overhaul of the national currency’s aesthetic design. The major aesthetic shift was initiated by the interim government following the collapse of the Awami League administration during the July Uprising of 2024.

Under the policy directives issued by the post-uprising administration, the portrait of the nation’s independence architect, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was systematically removed from all newly produced banknotes. The revised currency series was re-engineered around the central thematic concept of the “Historical and Archaeological Architecture of Bangladesh”.

The transitional banknotes featuring this new architectural layout were initially introduced to the financial system bearing the signature of the preceding central bank governor, Dr Ahsan H Mansur, before the subsequent appointment of Governor Mostaqur Rahman in February.

The timeline and operational breakdown of the current banknote rollout are structured in the table below: