BRICS Payment System Not to Replace SWIFT, Says Godongwana

South Africa's finance minister Enoch Godongwana said Thursday that the BRICS group would not look to replace international payment systems including SWIFT, but would instead consider creating a system that would boost trade in local currencies.

The bloc's leaders announced, at the conclusion of the three-day BRICS summit, that they would task their finance ministers to study issues of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms and submit a report within a year.

Getting rid of the dollar or "De-dollarisation" is a priority, especially for Russia, whose economy has been crippled by sanctions imposed by the West over its invasion of Ukraine and banned by SWIFT..

"It is not a substitute for SWIFT," Enoch Godungwana, who hosted BRICS finance ministers at the summit, told Reuters.

"It is a payment system that facilitates the deepening of the use of local currencies."

He added that the creation of a common currency for the BRICS group, an idea put forward in particular by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was not on the agenda of the finance ministers during the meetings, adding that its implementation would be "problematic".

"You should have one central bank," he said. “You must lose the independence of your monetary policy. It is a huge challenge, which, in our case, could have significant constitutional implications.”