Replacing SWIFT? 159 countries have responded! The new payment system of the BRICS countries is on its way!

On August 17, as reported by RT, the payment system of the BRICS countries might be launched in October of this year. This system enables unilateral settlements without the use of the US dollar.

Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, stated that 159 countries are prepared to adopt this system upon its launch. She described it as an alternative to the SWIFT international payment system.

01 It may be officially launched in October.
The BRICS alliance consists of countries such as China, Russia, and India, aiming to promote emerging market countries to play a more significant role in global affairs and reduce the hegemonic influence of developed countries.

The rise of the BRICS countries not only exerts pressure on the United States but also shakes the dominant position of the US dollar that has prevailed for many years.

Although the specific details of the new payment system of the BRICS countries remain uncertain for now, judging from its positioning, it is highly likely to pose a challenge to the dominance of the US dollar. Previously, there have been rumors that the BRICS countries are expediting the development of a new payment system to replace SWIFT.

On July 27, Zhang Meifang, the Chinese Consul General in the UK, revealed that "Russia will officially announce the establishment of a financial payment system similar to SWIFT at the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22, which has triggered extensive coverage in European and American media.
According to the news, this system is very likely to be launched during the BRICS summit in October this year, and it will have a tremendous impact on the global market at that time. Specifically, this system allows for unilateral settlements without the reliance on the US dollar.

02 Europe, America, and the United States impose sanctions on Chinese and Russian banks.
On February 26, 2022, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada issued a joint statement announcing the prohibition of some Russian banks from using the SWIFT international settlement system as the latest sanction measure against Russia. Simultaneously, they implemented "restrictive measures" against the Central Bank of Russia to prevent it from deploying its international reserves in a way that could undermine the sanctions.

In addition, according to the Wall Street Journal in April this year, the White House of the United States is attempting to draft a new set of sanctions against China. This measure aims to target Chinese banks and exclude them from the SWIFT global financial settlement system.

According to the US media's account, the reason why the Biden administration wants to draft this set of sanctions is that the United States believes that in the trade between China and Russia, China has provided a large quantity of war supplies to Russia. The White House hopes that this sanction measure can effectively "deter" China and thus achieve the goal of preventing China from continuing to provide Russia with the means to sustain the war. Simply put, it is to demand a severance of the connection between China and Russia.
There is no follow-up news currently.

03 The United States may launch countermeasures.
In March 2024, Forbes magazine in the United States once offered such an assessment of the payment system of the BRICS countries: "This move is more perilous than nuclear weapons and is a direct challenge to the hegemony of the US dollar."

However, even though a large number of countries are planning to use the new payment system of the BRICS countries, its emergence does not imply the absence of challenges. After all, with years of operation, the US dollar has established a comprehensive system globally. It is obviously impossible for the new payment system to replace it overnight.

More importantly, once the new system is launched, the United States is extremely likely to initiate countermeasures against it.