Signal BRICS and SCO build alternative payment and development-finance channels

Summary

With Middle Eastern oil producers joining BRICS, the renminbi is more likely to be used as a common currency for energy settlement, feeding into a BRICS common currency initiative. At the 17th BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2025, members agreed to build an alternative to SWIFT as part of a cross-border payments initiative. The initiative aims to make transactions among members more accessible, faster and more stable, to boost trade and investment among Global South countries and to reduce reliance on platforms run by northern powers. At the 25th SCO summit, President Putin proposed joint bond issuance and a common trade settlement system. After the AIIB and the BRICS New Development Bank, a decision was adopted to establish an SCO Development Bank, and China pledged 1.4 billion dollars in loans and 200 million yuan in grants to SCO members over three years.