Alternative International Settlement Systems: Reality and Prospects

The traditional system of interbank correspondent relations with cross-border transfers in key world currencies is technologically and morally outdated, becoming a factor constraining the development of the global economy. The importance and prospects of creating and developing alternative international settlement mechanisms are often either overly optimistic or underestimated. The article provides systematized information about alternative international settlement systems and discusses the prospects for their further development and practical use. Both international organizations and regional trade and economic blocks in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, which are creating their own independent settlement and payment systems, are engaged in improving the mechanisms of international settlements. The US dollar is gradually losing its position as a universal means of payment, which is openly or tacitly recognized by both developing and developed countries, but so far it has not been possible to find a solution to the key problem related to the creation of a convenient and secure payment infrastructure based on other payment instruments. It is highly likely that the new means of payment will be a universally recognized digital asset (stablecoin), based on principles that are transparent and understandable to market participants and secured by certain types of assets.