BRICS: Russia & China Speed Up Payment Infrastructure for Currency Settlements

Vinod Dsouza
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Source: Photograph by Li Tao / Xinhua / Getty

China and Russia are speeding up their “cutting-edge” payment infrastructure technology to settle international trade with the new BRICS currency. Igor Shuvalov, the Chairman of Russia’s National Economic Development Institution VEB.RF urged both the nations’ leaders to ramp up the payment system before the next BRICS summit.

Also Read: After BRICS, 10 ASEAN Countries Ditch The U.S. Dollar

The new and yet-to-be-launched payment system will integrate the upcoming BRICS currency to settle cross-border transactions. The system will also incorporate the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) group for the seamless transfer of money on the international stage. This puts both the BRICS and SCO currency on the front foot making it easier to trade within the bloc of five nations and with other countries.

“We urge the government of the Russian Federation and our Chinese partners to act as actively as possible. An independent and efficient infrastructure of payments is necessary not only for ensuring the ‘ruble/yuan’ pair but also for carrying out the most serious transactions in SCO and BRICS currencies,” said Shuvalov.

Also Read: Ahead of Joining BRICS, Iraq Issues Ban on U.S. Dollar Transactions

Shuvalov stressed that the new payment infrastructure boasts “cutting-edge” technology and could be revealed after the BRICS summit. The next BRICS summit will be held in Cape Town, South Africa in August 2023. The alliance of nations Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa will combinedly decide a new currency for global trade.

BRICS: Russia & China Dominate

Source: economictimes.com

Russia and China are aggressively advancing in their stance of dethroning the U.S. dollar from the global reserve status. The development has caused cracks in the BRICS alliance with India being skeptical of China’s advancements.

India believes China is using the BRICS alliance as a pawn to advance its quest of attaining global superpower. Read here to know more details about why India feels China might be misusing BRICS for its self-interest.

However, all eyes are on the BRICS summit and the fate of the U.S. dollar will be put to test. A new BRICS currency could wreak havoc on the U.S. dollar and affect a handful of financial sectors in America. Read here to know which U.S. sectors would be the first to fall if the BRICS currency grows stronger.