BRICS Countries Accelerate Efforts to Reduce Reliance on US Dollar

Source: Al Jazeera | Original Published At: 2026-01-27 06:53:30 UTC

Key Points

• South Africa and Brazil have integrated into China's CIPS system to enable direct renminbi trade settlements without USD intermediation.
• BRICS is developing the Bridge digital currency platform to facilitate trade outside SWIFT and USD frameworks, with a working model expected at the 2026 India summit.
• Analysts note growing incentives to reduce USD dependence due to US policy unpredictability and geopolitical risks, though USD remains dominant in 80% of global trade.
• Challenges include limited liquidity in non-USD currencies and infrastructure gaps for widespread local currency adoption despite technological initiatives like BRICS Pay.