At the 17th BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, the new payment system for members was one of the main topics on the agenda. Belarus proposed a system linked to the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC) to facilitate cross-border payments and reduce reliance on the US dollar.
But according to some summit officials, the new system is still years away, and the fresh tariff threat from Donald Trump only adds to uncertainty.
Belarus: CBDC is a BRICS solution
At the Rio Summit, ten BRICS members and the chief government officials of other partner states discussed a new financial railway that could reduce reliance on Western control systems like Swift. The block has been exploring alternatives for at least a decade, but according to the sources of the event, they are not close to a solution.
Belarus, represented by Foreign Minister Maxim Lizenkov, says the CBDC could be the solution.
“We support our efforts to create a multi-level payment system that combines innovative payment methods with reliable security mechanisms,” he said in a statement from the ministry.
“To improve the financial infrastructure of BRICS countries, Belarus proposes to consider the possibility that central bank digital currency platforms could be legally and technically integrated.”
This is not the first time a CBDC system has been proposed. In 2024, there was a surge of speculation that Mbridge, a cross-border CBDC project that includes Thailand and China, would form the basis for the BRICS CBDC system and encourage the Bank (BIS) (BIS) to leave the project (though it issued diplomatic reasons for departure).
However, the larger economy of BRICS shows that such systems have been apart for years. For example, Russia points out that a new national system must be developed that allows all members to integrate into the network, and that in the short term, they may have to explore simpler alternatives.
At the Rio Summit, authorities told Bloomberg that technical requirements are currently too complicated while all members support the new system. There are also economic issues, such as costs and how to share settlement currencies. Currently, most members are not the currency.
The expansion of block membership further complicates the potential deployment of the new system. BRICS currently has 10 members, with the newest members being the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Egypt. Saudi Arabia has been officially invited and is “studying the conditions.” It is expected to formally join Bloc in the near future.
Trump warns that supporting BRICS will earn you 10% extra fees
In addition to the technical and economic complexities of developing new global payment systems, new challenges face BRICS. It is a tariff threat from US President Donald Trump.
When the bloc gathered in Brazil, Trump threatened to slap 10% tariffs on any country that was consistent with “BRICS anti-American policy.”
“There are no exceptions to this policy,” he added.
Source: Truth Social
He didn’t elaborate on “anti-American policies,” but experts say it is a thinly veiled reference to Bullock’s proposed payment system, which is about to move away from the US dollar.
The Brics leaders responded quickly to this threat as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva called it “very wrong and very irresponsible.”
“The world has changed. We don’t want an emperor. We are sovereign nations,” Lula said. “The world needs to find ways to ensure that our trade relations do not have to pass through the dollar. No one has determined that the dollar is a currency standard.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the threat is evidence that the United States only preaches globalization when it supports American interests. Lavrov, who rose to his side for Putin in Rio, added that the US “severely abused” the dollar in order to exert influence on other countries.
The Brick countries fought in Rio, but history shows that Trump’s threat can hold their weight and quickly erode the country’s resolve. When Republican leaders targeted South Africa over non-recurring plans, Cyril Ramaphosa’s government quickly issued a statement claiming it had no intention of abandoning the greenback.
Watch: Find a way to use CBDC outside of digital currency