BRICS has moved away from the idea of creating a single currency to challenge the US dollar, instead focusing on connecting members’ payment systems and expanding the use of local currencies in cross-border trade.
Rather than creating a single BRICS currency to replace the dollar, the bloc is pursuing a network of local-currency payment and settlement systems.
The bloc is working to make members’ payment and messaging systems interoperable, allowing more trade to be settled directly in their own currencies without routing transactions through the dollar.
India, which hosted the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi from September 12 to 13, said there is currently no proposal for a common currency for the expanded group.
Sudhakar Dalela, India’s Secretary for Economic Relations, said discussions would continue on bilateral trade settlements using local currencies, arguing that the approach could help reduce transaction costs and make cross-border payments easier.
BRICS chooses practical payments over a common currency
The shift was reflected in the New Delhi Declaration, which stopped short of endorsing a shared BRICS currency.
Instead, leaders backed work on more efficient cross-border payment mechanisms and continued discussions on using BRICS local currencies for trade settlements and investment.
The declaration specifically recognised the work of the BRICS Payment Task Force on payment interoperability and cross-border transactions, while noting that there is no single approach that would suit all members.
The bloc also encouraged the New Development Bank (NDB) to expand financing in local currencies and diversify its funding sources, potentially giving local-currency financing a bigger role in infrastructure and development projects across emerging economies.
For Africa, the direction matters because South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia are among the BRICS members, while the bloc’s broader partnership network includes other African economies.
Speaking at the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa backed greater use of local currencies and stronger cross-border payment systems, aligning with the bloc’s push to make its financial systems more interoperable.
Rather than introducing a new currency that would require agreement among increasingly diverse economies, BRICS is currently pursuing mechanisms that allow countries to trade using their existing currencies and improve the systems connecting their financial institutions.
Reuters reported that the New Delhi summit also emphasised local-currency trade and interoperability between central bank digital currencies, although differences remain over the design of BRICS payment infrastructure.
The latest position therefore does not amount to a permanent rejection of a common currency. It shows that, for now, BRICS members are prioritising local-currency settlements and payment-system interoperability as more immediate steps towards reducing reliance on the dollar in intra-bloc trade.