BRICS is able to create an alternative to SWIFT transaction system, Nigerian former Trade Minister, Mustapha Bello told Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the Primakov Readings International Forum.
"The issue is the issue of SWIFT, the transaction platform, because they can block you. We must create an alternative to it," the ex-minister noted.
He also added that it is necessary to create such a platform "so that if I don't want to [use] SWIFT, I can go to the BRICS platform and use their own for transactions," stressing the importance of this measure which will help "minimize the influence of one currency over others," referring to the US dollar.
Earlier, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that BRICS finance ministers and heads of the nations' central banks are working on creating a unified platform for the organization's currencies in addition to a payment system.
Earlier in October, speaking about the BRICS efforts to reduce US dollar dominance, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the bloc needs to "establish a system of settlements, create financial logistics in order to ensure settlement between our states in national currencies."
SWIFT is an international banking system for financial transactions and payments involving over 11,000 major financial organizations worldwide. In 2022, the European Union, the United States and their allies rolled out a new sanctions campaign against Russia since the country started a military operation in Ukraine in late February, including cutting off Russian banks from SWIFT.
The Central Bank of Russia developed the country's equivalent of the SWIFT financial transfer system, SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages). The majority of Russian banks, as well as 52 foreign organizations from 12 countries, joined the SPFS.
Moreover, at the end of March 2022, Russia and India likewise said they were working on a banking messaging system alternative to SWIFT.