TEHRAN - Russia has proposed a new cross-border payment system to be conducted among BRICS countries to circumvent the western financial system, according to the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).

Mohammadreza Frazin, who visited Russia to attend the 2nd BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Banks Governors Meeting, said this new system includes developing a network of commercial banks that can conduct banking transactions in local currencies as well as establishing direct links between central banks.

“The BRICS Payment system was proposed with the aim of creating a settlement platform for cross-border payments based on Real Time Gross Settlement Systems (RTGS) and considering Central Bank Digital Currency Tracker (CBDC) mechanisms,” Farzin explained.

Referring to the necessity of using artificial intelligence in electronic banking and Iran's readiness to transfer its experiences to BRICS members, he said: “We believe that due to the political desire and will that exists in the BRICS group and the technical and infrastructure investments that have been made, we can move towards creating financial communication systems specific to BRICS which can facilitate cross-border payments among the members, and finally increase the speed, reduce the costs, and create a more competitive environment.”

Referring to the BRICS economic outlook and the role of member countries in it, the CBI governor stated: “The Islamic Republic of Iran, as one of the new members of BRICS, enjoyed acceptable GDP growth in 2023 and 2024 despite the existing restrictions.”

Farzin further emphasized that the BRICS countries account for 41 percent of the world's population, 26 percent of the land area in the four continents, and in total produce more than 25 percent of the world's oil and 50 percent of the world's iron ore.

“We hope to witness a stronger, more stable, fairer, and more balanced world by increasing strategic coordination among BRICS members, and BRICS definitely has the ability, capacity, and potential to do so,” he noted.

Iranian, Russian Chief bankers hold talks in Moscow

Prior to attending the BRICS meeting on Friday, Farzin met and held talks with his Russian counterpart Elvira Nabiullina in Moscow.

During the meeting, the two sides explored avenues for strengthening monetary-banking cooperation between the two countries.

The second meeting of governors of central banks of BRICS countries was held in Moscow on Friday. Russia, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa are founding members of BRICS, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia joined the BRICS group of emerging economies in 2024.

Farzin left Tehran for Moscow on Thursday morning to take part in the second meeting of the governors of central banks of the BRICS member countries and also conduct bilateral negotiations with his counterparts on the sidelines of the conference.

Russia will host first-ever summit of BRICS+ from October 22 to 24 in Tatarstan city of Kazan. There, the founding members of BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—will formally welcome into their fold five new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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