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Dispute over international payments gains strength in BRICS, with tests of own platforms, pressure from the United States, and the search for more transactions in national currencies among countries trying to reduce risks linked to the dollar and Western financial infrastructure.
The BRICS countries have advanced in bilateral tests of new payment platforms while expanding discussions to reduce dependency on the dollar in international transactions, in a movement that has gained momentum with the search for alternatives to Western financial infrastructure.
The articulation involves proposals such as the BRICS Bridge, aimed at payments between countries, and the BRICS Clear, designed for the settlement and clearing of financial assets, according to statements by Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister, Ivan Chebeskov, to the Russian newspaper Izvestia.
Amid this process, the bloc is trying to increase the use of national currencies in trade among its members, with the intention of making international operations less costly, faster, and less exposed to financial blockades.
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In July 2025, the Agência Brasil reported that the final communiqué of Finance Ministers and central bank presidents of BRICS acknowledged advances in the search for interoperability between payment systems of member countries.
New BRICS tests target payments outside Western structure
During the Russian presidency of the bloc in 2024, the BRICS Bridge proposal gained prominence because Moscow began to advocate for international settlement mechanisms less dependent on the banking infrastructure of the United States and European countries.
With this architecture, operations among BRICS members could occur with less exposure to systems dominated by Western institutions, especially in transactions considered sensitive due to involving countries subject to sanctions or financial restrictions.
To Izvestia, Chebeskov stated that discussions on the initiatives proposed by Russia continue and that there are already initial results in bilateral pilot projects, although definitive platforms have not yet been created.
In the assessment presented by the Russian representative, these tests indicate that part of the BRICS members already accepts discussing practical paths for an alternative financial infrastructure, even when avoiding public discussion of the topic for geopolitical reasons.
In addition to the BRICS Bridge, Moscow is working on the idea of BRICS Clear, a structure aimed at the circulation of securities between countries in the bloc and presented as a possible alternative to custody and clearing systems concentrated in the West.
Since the sanctions imposed after the war in Ukraine, Russia has faced restrictions in part of this global financial infrastructure, which has helped transform previously national proposals into a broader agenda within BRICS.
National currencies gain space in BRICS negotiations
The use of national currencies occupies a central position in the BRICS financial agenda, mainly because it allows for reducing conversion costs and decreasing the exposure of transactions to dollar-linked infrastructure.
According to Agência Brasil, the statement from the group’s finance ministers highlighted advances to boost operations in local currencies and reduce costs, but did not detail which steps have already been completed by the participating countries.
In practice, the proposal discussed by the bloc does not equate to the immediate creation of a single BRICS currency, a topic that frequently appears in public debate but still without a concrete decision to launch.
So far, the official focus is on expanding compatibility between national payment systems, reducing conversion costs, and creating instruments capable of reducing blocking risks in international operations.
This distinction is relevant because the debate on the topic usually mixes three different fronts: payments in national currencies, creation of own financial infrastructure, and eventual common currency.
In the group’s recent documents and statements, the emphasis is mainly on the first two points, with no indication of a formal decision to replace national currencies with a common unit.
US pressure increases the political weight of the financial agenda
The attempt to reduce dependence on the dollar gained political dimension after new tariff threats made by the United States President, Donald Trump, against countries seeking alternatives to the American currency.
In January 2025, Trump again threatened BRICS countries with a 100% tariff if they tried to replace the dollar as a reserve currency, according to Reuters, which increased the diplomatic weight of the discussion.
This statement reinforced the perception that the use of the dollar and Western financial infrastructure could become an instrument of geopolitical pressure, especially in a scenario of trade disputes and international sanctions.
At the same time, Reuters itself reported that the dollar remains the world’s main reserve currency, despite the efforts of BRICS countries to expand the use of other currencies in international operations.
Due to this delicate balance, the bloc’s projects advance cautiously, as many members maintain significant commercial relations with the United States and the European Union.
Any public adherence to alternative financial systems can be interpreted as a direct challenge to the current order, which helps explain some countries’ preference for bilateral tests and less exposed technical discussions.
Implementation of the BRICS Bridge still depends on political agreement
Even with tests underway, experts cited by Izvestia evaluate that the projects are still in the conceptual phase and may take years to reach partial implementation.
The estimate mentioned by Alisa Kazelko, a specialist linked to the Valdai Club and the Russian Association of Export Control, points to 2027 or 2028 as a more realistic timeframe for a first operational stage.
For this schedule to advance, political will from the main participants will be necessary, in addition to regulatory and technological compatibility between national financial systems that operate under their own rules.
The challenge is not limited to the technical part, because the BRICS does not have a supranational structure like the European Union, capable of imposing common rules and obliging all members to advance at the same pace.
Each country will have to define its own pace of adherence, considering commercial interests, diplomatic risks, and the degree of integration of its banks with already consolidated Western systems.
In this scenario, India usually acts cautiously in initiatives that could expand China’s financial influence within the bloc, while Brazil supports the debate on greater use of national currencies.
At the same time, the Brazilian financial system remains strongly connected to consolidated international networks, a factor that tends to influence the pace of any adherence to alternative payment mechanisms.
Financial infrastructure enters the center of the strategy
The discussion on payments also connects to the BRICS investment agenda, which seeks to expand financial mechanisms capable of serving developing countries and reducing costs in international operations.
According to Agência Brasil, the bloc comprises 11 permanent members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.
These countries represent 39% of the world economy, 48.5% of the global population, and 23% of international trade, numbers that explain the interest in creating financial instruments compatible with the economic size of the group.
Under the Brazilian presidency in 2025, the bloc also discussed mechanisms to facilitate investments and reduce costs in developing countries, in addition to reviewing financial structures created in previous years.
Among these mechanisms is the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, created in 2014 and mentioned in the communiqué of finance ministers and central banks as part of the BRICS institutional adaptation effort.
The creation of proprietary payment channels, therefore, is part of a broader agenda of financial autonomy, expansion of the use of local currencies, and strengthening of internal mechanisms for investments, asset settlement, and cooperation between central banks.
There is still, however, a significant gap between pilot tests and full operation, because BRICS Bridge and BRICS Clear will have to overcome internal differences, external pressure, regulatory requirements, and sanction risks.
Until these barriers are overcome, the most likely scenario is the gradual formation of a parallel payment network, without the immediate replacement of the dollar in global transactions.
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