BRICS payment system will replace SWIFT in the non-Western world – Senior Russian leader claims

Moscow: The unipolar system has begun to collapse globally, and a new multipolar system is forming. In this new world away from the dominance of the Western world, the ‘payment system’ developed by the ‘BRICS’ group will replace the existing ‘SWIFT network’, claimed senior Russian leader Igor Morozov. Morozov is a senior parliamentarian of Russia and heads the Coordinating Committee for Economic Cooperation with African Countries (AFROCOM).

Moreover, an important meeting of BRICS will be held in South Africa next month. Some other important announcements are possible in this meeting, along with the inclusion of new members by ‘BRICS’. New currency and ‘payment system’ will also be included, as such claims are being made. Against this background, the claim made by senior officials of Russia regarding the payment system of the ‘BRICS’ group attracts much attention.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system is used for international trading. Over 11,000 banks and financial institutions from more than 200 countries have joined the ‘SWIFT Network’. Every day, crores of messages related to financial business are exchanged through this network, and trillions of dollars are traded. Despite being members of SWIFT, its decision-making process is dominated by the United States and European countries.

Furthermore, SWIFT imposed sanctions on major Russian banks after the Russia-Ukraine conflict started last year. Due to this, there was a huge loss to Russia’s business at the international level. Apart from the SWIFT sanctions, the US and European countries had also decided to freeze Russia’s foreign exchange reserves. Against this background, Russia intensified its activities to remove the dollar from its trade and transactions. The efforts to introduce a new currency and payment system through BRICS are considered part of those activities.

There have been indications that the ‘BRICS’ organization of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa would soon expand. About 22 countries have applied for membership in BRICS. Apart from these, more than 20 countries have shown keenness to be a part of BRICS. These include the countries of the African continent. ‘BRICS’ was formed as an alternative to the international system under the influence of the United States and Western countries. For this reason, the number of countries showing eagerness to join ‘BRICS’ is increasing; this can become a setback for the global system led by the United States.

Meanwhile, the issue of the inclusion of new member countries in BRICS is said to be building tension between India and China. China had pushed for the inclusion of Pakistan in ‘BRICS’. However, India and Brazil thwarted China’s proposal by strongly opposing it. There should be strict criteria for the new members of ‘BRICS’, India and Brazil demanded.