BRICS Leaders Back BRICS Pay to Settle Trade in Local Currencies
BRICS leaders agreed to invest in BRICS Pay to expand trading and payments in local currencies at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13. The agreement was reported on September 16, 2026. The system is still in pilot and phased rollout and is not yet working across all members. Al Jazeera
BRICS Pay is a decentralised digital payment ecosystem built to simplify payments between BRICS countries. It is designed to link national payment systems so international payments can move directly between them. Trade between two countries could then be settled in local currencies without using currencies such as the US dollar.
The idea was proposed by the BRICS Business Council in 2018 and formally endorsed in 2024. As of September 16, 2026, it is still in testing and gradual deployment. It is not yet operational across the bloc.
The design centers on interoperability, meaning different systems working together, rather than a single BRICS currency or a single clearinghouse, which is a central office that settles payments. BRICS Pay plans to settle payments in local currencies with QR codes and digital wallets. According to its official website, it connects national and commercial payment systems across BRICS+ nations and is built to work with systems including SBP, UPI, Pix and WeChat Pay. BRICS Pay
That website describes a decentralized architecture with no single point of failure, DAO governance for open, transparent and equitable decision-making, and a scalable fractal design for fast deployment and low computation. DAO here means rule by shared vote among participants rather than a single owner. The site also states that full compliance with AML, KYC and local regulations is required. AML and KYC are checks to prevent financial crime and verify customer identity. The stated goal is reducing reliance on third-party financial messaging systems.
For companies, the project offers a B2B service for direct settlements between firms in BRICS+ nations using national currencies. BRICS Pay B2B Documentation for its Decentralised Cross-Border Messaging System, or DCMS, says it can work alongside centralized systems such as SWIFT, SPFS and CIPS, or replace them. According to the BRICS Pay website as summarized on September 16, the system is described as a compatible option for SWIFT, Visa and Mastercard, not a replacement. The same summary says BRICS Pay is strategic infrastructure that can also be used by friendly states of BRICS countries.
Several central bank groups are involved. The BRICS Payments Task Force serves as a joint expert platform for central banks on cross-border payment mechanisms. In August 2026, BRICS finance ministers and central bank officials met in Jaipur, India, to discuss advancing BRICS Pay. In January 2026, India's central bank proposed that BRICS countries link their official digital currencies to support cross-border trade and tourism, according to sources cited by Reuters. Reuters
The bloc now has 11 members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. The group includes large commodity exporters and importers, different exchange-rate regimes, and national payment systems at very different levels of maturity.
SWIFT is the existing system most often compared with BRICS Pay. It is a messaging hub for clearing and settlement in payments, securities and foreign exchange. According to its official site, SWIFT provides solutions to ensure secure, smooth and reliable payment transactions, and states it is transforming payments to create a seamless, secure and inclusive global financial ecosystem. In June 2023, JPMorgan noted some signs of emerging de-dollarisation while the dollar remained the top currency, and in June 2024 Saudi Arabia joined a BIS- and China-led central bank digital currency cross-border trial. Reuters
The broader context here is sovereignty versus efficiency. For BRICS finance ministries and central banks, settling in local currencies could lower exposure to third-country currency swings and to reliance on outside messaging. The tradeoff is complexity. Netting, liquidity provision, foreign-exchange pricing and dispute resolution across 11 currencies and legal systems take more than messaging. QR codes and wallets fix the last mile. The more difficult part is correspondent arrangements, compliance checks and intraday liquidity.
Looking at what this means for Western financial architecture, the near-term question is coexistence, not displacement. BRICS Pay currently describes itself as compatible with SWIFT, Visa and Mastercard. Its technical papers keep open a larger option. That dual language lets governments speak about autonomy at home while telling firms and banks that current rails will keep working. For treasury and compliance officers, the test will be whether pilots deliver repeatable, auditable settlement with predictable fees and timing.
For diplomacy, Jaipur and New Delhi point to sequencing. Central bank technicians meet first. Leaders then approve further investment. The January proposal to link official digital currencies is a parallel track that could feed into BRICS Pay or compete with it for attention and resources. How the Task Force brings together fast-payment systems, card networks and possible digital currency bridges will shape whether BRICS Pay becomes shared plumbing or a name for separate bilateral links.
What to watch next is whether pilots turn into daily use. Until transaction volumes, corridors and rulebooks are published, BRICS Pay works as much as a bargaining position as a payments system. If rollout grows corridor by corridor with clear AML and KYC enforcement, banks may engage in practical ways. If rollout stalls at declarations, firms will likely keep using established messaging and settlement channels while watching political risk.
