BRICS Ditches Common Currency for Cross-Border Payment System
The BRICS group has shifted its focus from creating a common currency to developing a more comprehensive payment infrastructure. The BRICS group, which now consists of 11 member countries, represents nearly half of the world's population and a significant portion of global GDP.
India will host the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, 2026, with a strong focus on payment infrastructure rather than a common currency. The group has set its sights on creating a cross-border payment system that connects India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Russia's SPFS, and China's CIPS.
The UPI is India's real-time mobile-based instant payment system, allowing users to transfer funds between bank accounts within seconds, 24/7, using QR codes, phone numbers, or a simple UPI ID. In Hungary, the closest equivalent would be the Azonnali Fizetési Rendszer (AFR), which has enabled forint-denominated transfers in real-time since 2020.
Russia's SPFS is a SWIFT alternative created by the central bank to facilitate secure and standardized messaging between banks. Unlike Hungary, where there is no standalone national alternative to SWIFT, Russian banks primarily rely on the international SWIFT network for cross-border transactions.