US Watches Helplessly as BRICS Launches Dollar Alternative: Explaining the Digital Payment System

Source: Live Hindustan | Original Published At: 2026-01-30 06:40:23 UTC

Key Points

• BRICS countries are developing a digital payment system to integrate currencies like India's e-rupee, China's digital yuan, and Russia's digital ruble through a shared technical platform.
• The system aims to enable direct cross-border transactions between BRICS nations without requiring US dollar conversion or SWIFT infrastructure.
• India plays a key role in shaping the system, leveraging its UPI experience to address previous trade imbalances seen in India-Russia transactions.
• The mechanism will use settlement cycles and forex swap lines to minimize transaction costs and manage currency imbalances.
• This initiative responds to Western sanctions against Russia and aims to create a contingency framework for uninterrupted trade during geopolitical crises.