BRICS, the intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, started meetings this morning in Russia. After agreeing to expand its membership in August, the group added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on January 1. During the opening meeting, Iran highlighted the importance of the agenda regarding banking and payments, including digital currency.
BRICS is now host to the two states that are the subject of Western sanctions: Russia and Iran. Hence, the emphasis on payment systems is unsurprising.
For a few years there’s been some discussion about a common digital currency amongst BRICS countries. At the last Summit in August, the common currency was downplayed, emphasizing instead the use of local currencies for trade payments rather than the dollar.
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