How BRICS Is Shaking Up SWIFT | Explained

For more than a decade, BRICS members have taken consistent steps to reduce their reliance on the dollar-centered international financial structure. The Fortaleza Summit in 2014 marked a turning point, as the bloc launched its own financial institutions to serve both member nations and other developing economies. The creation of the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement represented the first time emerging economies established global financial institutions—long a privilege of advanced nations.

Following Western sanctions on Russia in 2014 over the Crimea crisis, BRICS began exploring greater use of national currencies in intra-group trade. By 2017, members had agreed to strengthen cooperation in currency matters through initiatives such as currency swaps, local currency settlements, and direct investments. Entering the new decade, they created the BRICS Payments Task Force to design mechanisms enabling smoother transactions among members. This effort was formally reaffirmed at the 2024 Kazan Summit, where BRICS leaders emphasized the importance of “enhancing correspondent banking networks within BRICS and promoting local currency settlements in line with the BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative.”

The BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative, known as BRICS Pay, stands out as the most tangible project aiming to reduce dependence on the “SWIFT network”—a global interbank messaging system used by over 11,000 institutions and managed by G‑10 central banks. The bloc’s pursuit of sovereignty in financial systems gained additional momentum in 2024 with the admission of Iran, a nation long subjected to sanctions. The symbolic unveiling of a BRICS banknote at the Kazan Summit further fueled speculation about a coordinated move away from dollar dominance. The announcement provoked a strong response from President-elect Donald Trump, who warned of sweeping tariffs on any BRICS nation attempting to “create a new BRICS currency or back another to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar.”

Amid these developments, BRICS Pay remains the initiative with the greatest promise. The bloc’s Rio Summit Declaration earlier in 2024 noted that members “agreed to continue discussions on the BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative, and [recognized] the progress achieved by the BRICS Payment Task Force (BPTF) in identifying pathways toward greater interoperability of BRICS payment systems.”

BRICS nations are well-placed to develop a new financial network. Beyond their motivation to bypass the dollar-based system and Western restrictions, they already possess advanced domestic infrastructures compatible with BRICS Pay. Russia’s System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and Brazil’s Pix network are all technically capable of underpinning a shared system. Achieving interoperability between them, however, remains essential for building a cohesive BRICS-led payment alternative to SWIFT—likely more regional in scope but significant in strategic impact.

A prototype demonstration of BRICS Pay took place in Moscow in October 2024, marking a key step in the project’s timeline. Russia has shown the strongest enthusiasm for its development, while other founding members remain cautious, balancing global promotion of their national systems. India’s UPI is now accepted in nine countries but has yet to integrate within BRICS. China’s growing financial influence and the broader use of the RMB, boosted by its inclusion in the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights basket, have accelerated CIPS expansion to over 120 countries—including all BRICS members except India. Meanwhile, Brazil’s Pix, administered by its central bank since 2020, is widely adopted across Latin America. As each country pushes its own platform, coordination challenges persist. Yet, President Trump’s confrontational rhetoric toward BRICS members may hasten collective will to accelerate their payment network’s rollout.

For now, the creation of a joint BRICS currency remains unlikely. Each member continues advocating for its national currency in trade, and China’s ambitions in this area exceed those of others. Moreover, establishing a shared currency demands deep macroeconomic alignment—an experience the evolution of the Euro has amply illustrated for the BRICS economies.