BRICS+ countries could establish a joint cross-border payments system to reduce reliance on the US dollar, but a common currency faces substantial economic and institutional barriers, according to a new study by economists Gregory Chin, Danny Quah and Jim O'Neill.

The report, A BRICS+ Currency and Payments System: Feasibility and Consequences, commissioned by BRICS+ Thinking, appeared online on October 30 ahead of its November 2026 publication date. It urges governments and central banks to connect national payment infrastructure and expand local-currency settlement.

"The initial prognosis for the possibility of a BRICS+ currency is not hopeful," the authors concluded, citing divergent economic structures, geographic dispersion and reluctance to surrender monetary-policy autonomy.

A fully fledged common currency would require open capital accounts, full convertibility and a joint monetary authority. Less ambitious arrangements, such as shared units of account or wholesale settlement instruments, could operate without replacing national currencies or central banks. The authors argued that expanding local-currency payments was "quite feasible, unlike launching a shared currency".

Competing currency and payment proposals

The study examines five initiatives: the R5 and UNIT currency proposals, alongside BRICS Pay, BRICS Bridge and BRICS Clear.

The R5 envisages a shared unit of account based on a basket of BRICS currencies. Former New Development Bank vice-president Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr has proposed using such a unit to denominate bonds and loans, potentially creating a pathway towards a shared reserve currency.

The UNIT is a separate proposal for a digital wholesale settlement instrument backed by 40% gold and 60% BRICS+ national currencies. Designed for institutional rather than retail payments, it has undergone trials but has not received official endorsement. Its reliance on Western-based data providers and blockchain infrastructure has also attracted criticism.

BRICS Pay aims to connect existing national payment networks for retail and business transactions, while BRICS Bridge focuses on central bank digital currency settlement and BRICS Clear on securities transactions. Despite progress on prototypes and pilots, no unified BRICS-wide payments network is operational, IntelliNews reported on October 29.

In a July 2025 interview cited by the study, BRICS Pay chairman Andrey Mikhailishin described the consortium-led project as "not revolution, it is evolution" but acknowledged that there was "still a lot of work to do". Western sanctions remain a major obstacle to connecting Russian banks with international card networks operated by Visa (NYSE:V) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA).

"All of the top banks in Russia are under sanctions," Mikhailishin said, explaining why some of the country's largest lenders could not participate directly.

The report considers the technological challenges facing BRICS Pay and BRICS Bridge surmountable, although sanctions, regulatory restrictions and differences between participating governments remain obstacles to implementation.

The consortium-led BRICS Pay project is distinct from the official BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative, although its organisers have coordinated with government and central-bank representatives. BRICS members agreed in September to continue studying payment interoperability without committing to a unified platform.

India has confirmed that no common BRICS currency proposal is currently under formal consideration. "There is no proposal in the BRICS for a BRICS currency as of now," Foreign Ministry Secretary for Economic Relations Sudhakar Dalela said on September 12.

Brazil likewise declined to advance a common currency during its 2025 presidency, although President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has supported exploring a shared reference currency.

African members pursue practical alternatives

The debate has particular significance for African BRICS members South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia, alongside partner countries including Nigeria, where businesses face high cross-border transaction costs and foreign-exchange constraints.

At the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow on October 28-29, President Vladimir Putin urged African governments to expand local-currency settlement and connect their banks with alternative payment infrastructure.

Putin claimed that roubles accounted for up to 85% of payments in Russia's trade with Africa, a figure that has not been independently verified, IntelliNews reported. Moscow is exploring links with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).

Unlike the proposed BRICS-wide network, PAPSS is operational. Developed by Afreximbank with African central banks, it processes cross-border transactions in local African currencies, with hard-currency settlement managed through Afreximbank. No operational connection to BRICS Pay has been confirmed.

As of September, PAPSS operated in more than 30 African countries, connecting 24 national and regional central banks, more than 200 commercial banks and payment providers, and 16 payment switches, according to an Afreximbank statement. However, network membership does not necessarily indicate full operational integration.

South Africa has also prioritised regional payment integration. International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said in September that Pretoria wanted BRICS initiatives to deliver practical local-currency settlement systems.

South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago outlined plans on October 20 to transfer qualifying regional payments below ZAR100,000 ($6,000) to the Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis (TCIB) system by the end of April 2027. An eight-country pilot is scheduled for October 2027.

Dollar dominance faces structural challenges

Western sanctions against Russia have strengthened incentives to develop alternative payment infrastructure. President Donald Trump's threats of 100% tariffs against BRICS countries pursuing a currency intended to replace the dollar have added a further political obstacle.

However, payment interoperability alone would not overcome the dollar's advantages in liquidity, convertibility and the depth of US financial markets.

The authors recommend expanding central-bank currency swaps, developing interoperable payment networks and exploring greater use of digital currencies. "It is absolutely crucial that their central banks embrace this goal," they wrote, stressing that political commitment must be matched by the necessary technical infrastructure.

Rather than pursuing monetary union or seeking to displace the dollar, BRICS+ should develop "an alternative or supplementary payments mechanism", the study concludes. Such a system could reduce transaction costs and strengthen financial autonomy without sacrificing national monetary sovereignty. Any longer-term erosion of dollar dominance would remain conditional on wider economic and policy developments.