No BRICS Currency?

If you’ve been hoping for a new BRICS currency to challenge the US dollar, I hate to burst your bubble but it looks like that’s not gonna happen.

We’ve been following the possibility of a BRICS currency—but now India says there’s no proposal for one.

BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

If you’ve been following our BRICS coverage, you’ll remember we discussed the possibility of the group creating its own currency to rival the US dollar.

Well, here’s an important update from one of its founding members.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs says there is no proposal for a common BRICS currency “as of now.”

That clarification came from Sudhakar Dalela, the ministry’s Secretary for Economic Relations, in September 2026.

So, does that mean the whole conversation about reducing reliance on the US dollar is over?

No. But we need to separate two things that often get mixed together.

Creating a new, shared currency is different from trading in currencies that already exist.

India says the focus is on settling more trade in national currencies and reducing transaction costs.

So instead of creating a “BRICS dollar,” businesses could use currencies such as the Indian rupee or Brazilian real to pay each other, where the necessary arrangements exist.

Countries keep their own money. They’re changing how they settle some international transactions.

The group is also discussing how payment systems can work better together.

Think of the currency as the money you’re sending, and the payment system as the route it takes to get there. A different route doesn’t necessarily mean new money.

Now, this matters because BRICS is a group of countries with different interests. An idea supported by one member doesn’t automatically become an agreed plan for the whole group.

And India’s wording matters too: no proposal “as of now.”

That tells us where things stand. It doesn’t mean nobody has ever suggested a shared currency, or that the idea could never come back.

But it DOES mean we shouldn’t treat a new BRICS currency as an agreed project that’s about to launch.

For Caribbean businesses, the practical question is whether changes in international payments could eventually make trade easier or less expensive.

If a supplier accepts payment in another currency, can your bank handle it? What’s the exchange rate? What are the fees? And is the total cost actually lower?

Those details matter much more to your business than a dramatic headline about the end of the US dollar.

And that’s the bottom line.

Do you think BRICS countries will eventually agree on a shared currency?