BRICS Is Ditching the US Dollar Fast

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has highlighted the growing use of national currencies among BRICS members in place of the U.S. dollar and other Western currencies

The BRICS nations are surging ahead with unstoppable momentum, rapidly abandoning the U.S. dollar, building resilient payment systems, and forging a historic new economic frontier beyond Western control.

As the BRICS countries rapidly reduce their use of the U.S. dollar and other Western currencies in mutual transactions, deploying national currencies instead, the possibility of a single BRICS currency has been raised.

In an April 28 interview with Brazilian newspaper O Globo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov highlighted the growing use of national currencies among BRICS members in place of the U.S. dollar and other Western currencies, and discussed the future potential for a common currency.

Lavrov said that BRICS countries are focused on developing new cross-border payment and settlement infrastructure, aiming to expand the use of national currencies and create more autonomous systems free from external political pressures.

“We have been working within BRICS to ensure that there are no disruptions when carrying out payments and have been quite effective in our efforts,” he said.

The Russian official pointed to a significant shift in Russia’s transactions within the bloc, adding that “the rouble and currencies of our friendly countries accounted for 90% of Russia’s settlements with BRICS countries in 2024.”

He went on to say that “no one wants to suffer from sanctions, considering that the West has been imposing them on undesirable countries by exploiting its monopoly on financial markets. Using reserve currencies as a competitive tool is unacceptable. Payment transactions can be blocked for political reasons, even when dealing with supplying socially important goods.”

Against this background, Lavrov said that the lack of trust toward the West-led international financial institutions is driving nations of the Global South and East toward dedollarization, which is one of the defining economic movements of the present time.

On the future potential for a common currency, Lavrov said that conditions must first become favorable.

“It would be premature to discuss a transition to a single currency for BRICS,” the Russian official stated.

“We can come back to the question about a common currency or a single payment unit for BRICS once the necessary financial and economic conditions are in place.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in January that BRICS at present is concentrating on establishing investment platforms in third countries, rather than pursuing monetary union.

Peskov’s comments responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s warnings of tariffs on BRICS nations if they were to abandon the U.S. dollar.