A group of economically-aligned nations say they’re building an “independent payments system” in a move away from the US dollar.
At the SPIEF 2024 Conference in Saint Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin said work is underway on a system designed to safeguard the sovereignty of national currencies.
“Within BRICS, we’re working on shaping an independent payment system, free from political pressure, abuse and external sanctional interference.”
Putin’s statement follows initial reports that the China and Russia-led BRICS – which also consists of Brazil, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates – will use blockchain technology to power the payments system.
In an interview with the Russian state-owned news outlet TASS, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said BRICS is designing a system that’s fully digital, fair and cost-effective.
“We believe that creating an independent BRICS payment system is an important goal for the future, which would be based on state-of-the-art tools such as digital technologies and blockchain.
The main thing is to make sure it is convenient for governments, common people and businesses, as well as cost-effective and free of politics.”
While the payments system is in development, Ushakov says BRICS nations are focused on boosting banking networks and trade in national currencies.
“Work will continue to develop the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, primarily regarding the use of currencies different from the US dollar.”
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