BRICS is challenging SWIFT. The BRICS grouping’s motivation to challenge Western financial dominance is driven by a desire for greater financial sovereignty and reduced exposure to U.S. sanctions.
About BRICS PAY
•BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative (BCBPI) or BRICS Pay is a Digital Payments Platform that is being jointly developed by the member countries of the BRICS economic bloc.
•A new financial settlement platform for the member countries to use.
•The system uses blockchain technology. However, it is not a CBDC or cryptocurrency. It is a Digital Service that does not have a single acceptable currency. In turn, this allows any of the BRICS member to use their own native currencies.
About Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).
•SWIFT is an international network for banks worldwide to facilitate smooth money transactions globally.
•It is basically a messaging network used by banks and financial institutions globally for quick and faultless exchange of information pertaining to financial transactions.
•The messaging system used by over 11,000 banks and financial institutions worldwide for international money transfers, and which is controlled by the G-10 central banks.
About BRICS
•BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran & the United Arab Emirates.
•The term BRIC was originally coined by Jim O’Neil in 2001 to designate the group of emerging markets.
•The first summit took place in 2009 featured the founding countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, where they adopted the acronym BRIC
•In 2010, South Africa was admitted & the organisation adopted the name BRICS.
•The acronym BRICS+ has been informally used to reflect new membership since 2024. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates attended their first summit as member states in 2024 in Russia.
•In 2025 Indonesia officially joined as a member state, becoming the first Southeast Asian member.
IAS-2026 - OPTIONAL / GEOGRAPHY / PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION / SOCIOLOGY / ANTHROPOLOGY / ORIENTATION ON 03 & 04-10-2025 
