Russia and BRICS countries work to create new reserve currency

A new currency can be created based on the basket of currencies of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"The issue of creating an international reserve currency based on the basket of currencies of our countries is being developed,” Putin said, adding that mechanisms for alternative international payments are in the works as well.

According to him, Russia offers BRICS states to connect their financial systems to the System for the Transfer of Financial Messages (known for the Russian initials as SPFS) of the Russian Central Bank. SPFS is an alternative to SWIFT, from which a number of major Russian banks were disconnected.

In addition, the geography of the use of Russian Mir payment cards has been expanding. Mir is a Russian alternative to Visa and MasterCard payment systems hat left the Russian market). The use of Mir cards has become relevant for Russians after Visa and MasterCard left the Russian market.