BRICS Developing Independent Payment System and Financial Exchange

Moscow (ANTARA) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said BRICS member states are developing an independent financial ecosystem that includes platforms for payments, transaction settlements and reinsurance, as well as an independent securities exchange.

“Within the BRICS framework, independent platforms for payments and transaction settlements, reinsurance, and a securities exchange are currently being developed,” Lavrov said in an article published in the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

He said the development of this independent financial infrastructure is based on the Greater Eurasian Partnership, an initiative for cross-continental economic cooperation.

According to Lavrov, the initiative is “designed to integrate the potential of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and other subregional organisations, as well as to connect various countries through transport corridors and collaborative projects within an open common economic space”.

BRICS is an intergovernmental organisation and cooperation bloc established in 2009 by Brazil, China, India and Russia. South Africa joined a year later.

BRICS membership has since expanded to include Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia officially became a member on 6 January 2025.