The BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are working on a common payment system BRICS Pay.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which coordinates Moscow’s working group on financial services of the BRICS Business Council, has shared the news with Izvestia.

A probable outcome of the project is creation of an online wallet that would combine the payment systems of all BRICS members.

The common wallet will work in the same way as the existing payment services such as Apple Pay or Samsung Pay. A cloud platform created specifically for this project will connect the national payment systems of BRICS countries.

Payment itself is expected to be made via a mobile application regardless of the national currency of the buyer. Countries without membership in BRICS will also be able to use the platform. The pilot project kicks off in South Africa in early April.

The Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that foundation of a new international payment system was a priority for BRICS states, given the instability in economic sector.

According to experts, the common payment system will facilitate development of trade and reduce BRICS members’ dependency on transnational payment organizations, which is extremely important for them given the current escalation of tensions in international relations.

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