BRICS Bridge (cross-border payment platform)

2024: Platform Creation

On June 10, 2024, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation announced the launch of the BRICS Bridge platform, designed to conduct cross-border payments between the BRICS countries. The initiative is aimed at increasing the speed and availability of financial transactions, as well as ensuring sustainable settlements outside the sanctions field.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the main idea of ​ ​ the BRICS Bridge platform is to use digital financial assets (CFA) issued by the central banks of the participating countries. These assets will be tied to national currencies, which will allow settlement participants to make payments almost instantly with minimal costs.

Bloomberg

According to the Ministry of Finance, the project is at the stage of deep development. The concept is being developed and calculation mechanisms are being formed, as well as lists of potential participants. The project is periodically discussed at the sites of the BRICS countries and has a long-term nature.

We will implement it in stages, it is important for us to hear the opinion of all participants in the future platform, - said the representative of the Ministry of Finance

BRICS Bridge will be compatible with both traditional real-time settlement payment systems and central bank digital currency systems. According to the specialists of the Ministry of Finance, this will increase the stability and independence of calculations, which is especially important in the current geopolitical situation.

Oleg Ushakov, General Director of the Legal Bureau of Sagrada Legal, noted that calculations in the form of CFA can be built according to the platform model or on the basis of a "mediating" decision. However, the implementation of these plans will require a change in legislation in all BRICS countries.

Andrey Mikhailishin, head of the BRICS Payments & Fintech task force, stressed that the use of CFAs tied to the cost of raw materials can become a more popular tool. To do so, however, central banks will need to change national legislation.^[1]

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