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Russia, China and BRICS Seek Alternatives to SWIFT
SWIFT is a network banks use to send messages about international payments.
In 2022, Western countries cut some Russian banks off from it and froze Russian government money held abroad.
Russia responded by using more local currencies and building its own payment-message system, called SPFS.
China has another system, CIPS, designed to help banks make payments in yuan.
CIPS is growing, but the article says the dollar is still much more widely used and CIPS is not fully separate from existing financial networks.
BRICS countries are discussing ways to make payments between them easier without always using dollars.
Their stated plans focus on practical cooperation, not an immediate end to the dollar’s role as the leading reserve currency.
The article says having more options could help countries cope if financial systems are used as political pressure.
Western governments excluded major Russian banks from SWIFT in 2022 and froze more than $300 billion in Russian central-bank foreign-exchange assets.
Russia expanded local-currency trade and developed SPFS, which had links to foreign financial institutions in multiple countries by 2023.
China’s CIPS promotes yuan payments and has grown internationally, but the article says it remains connected to existing financial infrastructure and yuan use is limited relative to the dollar.
BRICS is pursuing local-currency settlements, payment-system cooperation and development finance, rather than officially calling for an imminent replacement of the dollar as the leading reserve currency.
The article argues that sanctions and financial-network access can be used as leverage, making diversified payment and financial systems a matter of resilience.
- Who
- Russia, China and BRICS countries, in the context of sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and their allies.
- What
- The article examines the use of SWIFT access as financial leverage and efforts to develop alternative payment channels and expand local-currency transactions.
- Where
- In international finance, including Russia’s, China’s and BRICS countries’ cross-border payment and settlement systems.
- When
- The account covers developments from SWIFT’s founding in 1973 through sanctions imposed in 2022, system developments reported in 2023, and BRICS initiatives discussed for 2025 and 2026.
- Why
- To reduce exposure to sanctions and dependence on dollar-based financial channels, while improving resilience and facilitating cross-border payments.
Case for Diversifying Financial Systems
Limits and Constraints
Reducing reliance on SWIFT and dollar channels
Case for Diversifying Financial Systems
The article presents SPFS, CIPS and local-currency settlements as ways to build resilience and reduce exposure to sanctions or disruption of Western-centered financial channels.
Limits and Constraints
The article notes that CIPS still operates alongside existing financial infrastructure and that yuan payments remain relatively small compared with dollar use.
BRICS de-dollarisation
Case for Diversifying Financial Systems
BRICS efforts to expand local-currency trade and improve payment links could enable more transactions outside the dollar where practical.
Limits and Constraints
The article says official BRICS statements point to gradual, commercially viable changes and do not suggest that replacing the dollar as the leading reserve currency is imminent.
Key facts
- SWIFT
- Founded in 1973; the article says it connects more than 11,000 financial institutions worldwide.
- Russia sanctions
- In February–March 2022, the United States, European Union and allies froze more than $300 billion in Russian central-bank foreign-exchange assets, according to the article.
- SPFS
- Russia’s financial messaging system, developed by the Central Bank of Russia as an alternative to SWIFT.
- SPFS participation
- The article reports 23 foreign banks connected by the third quarter of 2023 and 70 foreign financial organisations from 12 countries joining as finance hubs.
- CIPS
- China’s cross-border payment system, introduced in 2015 to support yuan transactions and settlements.
- CIPS reach
- The article reports approximately 1,280 connected financial institutions from 103 countries and regions.
- BRICS approach
- The article describes an incremental focus on local-currency use, interoperable payments and development finance, not an official plan for an imminent replacement of the dollar as the leading reserve currency.
Quotes
Farrell and Newman
Scholars cited for their account of network power and interdependence.
“so central to an embedded network of interdependence that it can impose its will on others”
thehansindia.com
BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
BRICS officials whose 2025 joint statement addressed cross-border payments.
“fast, low-cost, more accessible, efficient, transparent, and safe cross-border payments”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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