BRICS Lays Tracks for New Global Payment System to Challenge Dollar Dominance
BRICS nations are making concrete progress on a new global payment system, generally referred to as BRICS Pay or BRICS Bridge, designed to facilitate trade in local currencies and reduce reliance on the US dollar and Western-controlled financial infrastructure like the SWIFT network.
The system is in its early stages, with pilot tests and technical reports presented in 2024 and 2025. A broader operational deployment is hoped for by late 2026.
Motivation: The primary driver is a desire for financial sovereignty and a way to bypass potential sanctions, as demonstrated by events like the freezing of Russian reserves.
Structure: The current plan focuses on creating an interoperable platform that links existing national payment systems and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), rather than a single BRICS currency.
Progress: A technical prototype was demonstrated in Moscow in October 2024, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed linking national CBDCs as a key item for the 2026 BRICS Summit agenda.
Implementation: Development is expected to be gradual, leveraging existing bilateral arrangements (like the link between India's UPI and the UAE's IPP) before expanding into a full multilateral network.
Challenges: The initiative faces significant hurdles, including differing national regulations, the need for standardized protocols, and the immense liquidity and trust associated with the US dollar and SWIFT.