Faced with a global financial system dominated by Washington, the BRICS accelerate the implementation of an alternative payment network: the BRICS PAY. This project, supported by a block extended to ten countries, intends to reduce dependence on Swift and American sanctions. More than just a technical initiative, it is a strategic bet to reshape the world monetary order and affirm financial sovereignty in a world that has become a multipolar.
In short
- The BRICS are working to set up BRICS PAY, an alternative payment system designed to reduce dependence on the dollar and Swift.
- A prototype was presented in Moscow in 2024, based on a decentralized and interoperable architecture, at no compulsory costs.
- The system is based on existing national infrastructure (SPFS, CIPS, Pix, UPI), but its integration remains partial at this stage.
- BRICS PAY could foreshadow a new multipolar monetary architecture, although its complete deployment remains strewn with technical and political obstacles.
An architecture in the making: the foundations of the BRICS PAY
In October 2024, a prototype of the BRICS Pay was unveiled in Moscow, reporting a concrete advance in the creation of a non -Western cross -border payment system.
Presented as a decentralized financial messaging protocol, the BRICS PAY is designed to allow local coins transactions between members of the block, while freeing from the SWIFT network.
According to Gis's reportthe system aims to be open-source, at no compulsory costs, and capable of managing up to 20,000 messages per second. It is based on a technical architecture aimed at interoperability between national networks, without imposing centralized control. The principle is clear: each country manages its own node while maintaining compatibility with the entire network.
The existing infrastructures of the Member States constitute the pillars of this ambitious project. Here are the main elements that make up the technical framework of the BRICS PAY:
- Russia: SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages), direct alternative to Swift;
- China: CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System), coupled with Unionpay;
- India: UPI (Unified Payments Interface), large -scale instant payment system;
- Brazil: Pix, successful public platform, often cited as an example of innovation;
- The common objective: to integrate these networks via standardized protocols to ensure the fluidity of inter-brick transactions.
Despite this solid base, no unified or fully functional version of the system has yet seen the light of day. The interconnection work between spfs and the other platforms are still in the pilot phase.
Many technical challenges remain to be resolved: standardization of messages, transmission safety, effective interoperability and compliance with regulatory frameworks for each state. At this stage, the Brics Pay project remains a technological ambition more than an operational tool.
An instrument of sovereignty in the face of American sanctions
Beyond technical issues, this project is part of a political logic of contesting American financial hegemony. The strategic use of the dollar as a lever for sanction, especially against Russia and Iran, has fueled the will of the countries of the Global South to build a parallel network.
The freezing of Russian reserves after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 served as an electroshococ. This situation has been perceived as a warning by many emerging powers, who see it as fragility in their exposure to the Dollar system.
In this context, the pressures exerted by Donald Trump, returned to power with aggressive rhetoric, have strengthened the cohesion of the BRICS. The American president threatened to impose customs duties that can reach 100 % on any nation adopting a common BRIC currency, and an additional 10 % in the event of the creation of alternative systems to the dollar.
These measures paradoxically accelerated the search for alternatives. In 2024, 90 % of Russia's trade with the other members of the BRICS block were already done in local currencies. For its part, India has intensified its bilateral bilateral agreements with China and the Emirates, while Brazil reinforced its financial cooperation with Beijing.
These movements do not yet constitute an offensive coordinated against the dollar, but indicate the will of several major economies to have autonomous, even fragmented exchange mechanisms.
In the short term, a completely integrated system seems out of reach, due to the diversity of regulations, the non-convertibility of certain currencies and internal geopolitical rivalries. However, the idea of a BRICS currency for trade regulations, backed by a basket of currencies or raw materials, triggers growing interest. This type of instrument, halfway between technological innovation and diplomatic compromise, could constitute a bridge towards a progressive disintermediation of the dollar, without causing an immediate systemic shock.
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