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BRICS can't formally do away with U.S. dollar but have several alternatives
Why BRICS Can't Do Away with U.S. Dollar Even as Currency Cooperation Rises
By Junaid Kathju
South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Brazil's dismissal of the idea of a BRICS currency signals that the bloc may continue to pursue less politically fraught monetary cooperation that stops short of challenging the U.S. dollar's dominance, such as swaps and seamless payment systems, according to analysts.
During Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's recent trip to India, Lula sought to downplay speculation that the 10-member grouping of developing nations was drafting plans for a shared currency.
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In an interview with an Indian news channel on Friday, he said "there has been no proposal, no draft, and no internal discussion to create a BRICS currency."
“India and Brazil can trade in their own currencies and do not need to rely on the US dollar for bilateral deals,” Lula added.
Speculation about a BRICS currency has swirled in the past few years as the push toward dedollarisation continues. ...
Lula's dismissal of a BRICS currency has fueled speculation on what other options the bloc could consider to reduce its reliance on the dollar.
A more plausible path is to expand local-currency settlements and swap arrangements between central banks, as well as linking national payment systems, according to analysts.
James Chin, director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania, said BRICS members "can do direct payment in their own currencies. The second option is a currency swap, which is already in place. A big currency swap between China and Russia, India and China, or India and Brazil would effectively bypass the U.S. dollar."
The creation of an integrated electronic payment system or a cryptocurrency across BRICS could further reduce the bloc's dependence on the dollar, according to Chin. He also cited wider use of China's cross-border interbank payment systems as another potential solution. ...
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