BRICS Payment Cooperation Gains Momentum Amid Dollar Dominance Concerns

The BRICS nations are strengthening their payment and currency cooperation to boost financial autonomy and resilience amid concerns over the dollar-centric international monetary system.

Experts say that extending bilateral payment arrangements, expanding local currency settlements, and broadening access to infrastructure such as CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System) and mBridge (multilateral central bank digital currency platform) are crucial steps towards bolstering financial autonomy and resilience.

Yang Tao, a council member of the National Institution for Finance & Development, noted that closer payment cooperation could reduce BRICS members' reliance on the US dollar and Western-dominated financial infrastructure, including SWIFT.

Liu Xiaochun, vice-president of the Shanghai Finance Institute, pointed out that cross-border dollar payments and clearing routed through US-based clearing banks and CHIPS (Clearing House Interbank Payments System) fall within the reach of US regulatory oversight and sanctions enforcement, giving countries an incentive to diversify payment channels.