Members of the BRICS Business Council reportedly discussed the possibility of creating a joint cryptocurrency and a new international payment system, Russian financial media outlet RBC reported this week. The council apparently expressed support for the idea while meeting in Brazil at the annual BRICS Summit.
If pursued, the idea would be to create a single common payment system that would facilitate settlements between the five nations that make up the BRICS group – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
According to Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Director General Kirill Dmitriev, who described the meeting to reporters:
“An efficiently operating BRICS payment system is able to stimulate settlements in national currencies and ensure the stability of settlements and investments between our countries, which form more than 20% of the global influx of foreign direct investment.”
Recent reports suggest that at least three of the BRICS nations – China, India, and Russia, have been in discussions about creating a new alternative international payment settlement system that would bypass the U.S.-dominated SWIFT system.
As noted, the Business Council also talked about creating a cryptocurrency that could be used with a new payment system. However, current reports suggest that the cryptocurrency would be used to transfer obligations, and not designed to serve as a form of money.
