The common payment system BRICS Bridge, the creation of which is currently being developed by the member countries of the association, will allow the inclusion of a mechanism for the transmission of financial messages. This was stated by Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting.
„It is not like an analogue of SWIFT, it is a payment system that, on the one hand, will allow the replacement of banking organizations, and on the other hand, will allow a system for the transmission of financial messages,” said the head of the Russian Ministry in a comment to the publication "Izvestia".
Such a system, according to Siluanov, will be based on completely new formats and approaches, taking into account the use of digital financial assets, it will represent a completely new design.
The head of the Ministry of Finance recalled that the current system of transmission of financial messages - as well as the settlement system in general used today - has become too politicized. “Therefore, it is obvious that at the BRICS meeting the topic of the policy of an independent payment system is relevant,” explained Siluanov.
He noted that this issue has been raised repeatedly at the level of finance ministers to the participants of the association: “Discussions are currently underway, a report has been prepared for the leaders of the BRICS summit of ministers and central banks, so that we will look into it".
Earlier, the president of the International Forum of the BRICS countries Purnima Anand in an interview with TASS drew attention to the fact that the adoption of a declaration on the subject of the BRICS settlement mechanism would be an important element of the union summit in Kazan. According to her, the organized exchange of financial information between the central banks of the participating countries within the framework of the new system is “the need of the moment”. for “shifting economic growth from west to east“.
From October 22 to 24, Kazan is hosting the sixteenth BRICS Heads of State Summit, which is a key event of the Russian Federation's presidency of the association. The BRICS association was established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, and South Africa joined in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia became full members of the group. The summit in Kazan is the first in which new members of the association will also participate. Representatives from over 30 countries are expected to attend. Among the foreign leaders who arrived in Kazan are, in particular, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.