IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/gre/wpaper/2025-48.html

Should BRICS Members Adopt a Wholesale Digital Payment System?

Author

Listed:
  • Jeremy Srouji

    (International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France)

  • Dominique Torre

    (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France)

  • Qing Xu

    (ICL, Junia, Université Catholique de Lille, LITL, Lille, France)

Abstract

This article examines proposals to establish a BRICS Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) aimed at facilitating trade flows among the members, as part of their broader discussions around reforming the international monetary and financial system. It sets these proposals within the context of global CBDC efforts, South-South convergence processes and the challenges the BRICS have faced in navigating global geo-political tensions, while aligning national CBDC efforts with groupwide initiatives. We focus on a Brazilian proposal to establish a unified BRICS cross-border payment system, seen as a first step towards a full-fledged BRICS CBDC. Our main finding is that while this cross-border digital currency can be useful for smoothing payments and reducing the trade deficits of the smaller BRICS members, it does little to redress their asymmetric position vis-à-vis the larger country, China. The implication is that sustainable convergence among the grouping through the adoption of a unified cross-border currency would require a higher level of monetary and policy coordination than that set out in the Brazilian proposal.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeremy Srouji & Dominique Torre & Qing Xu, 2025. "Should BRICS Members Adopt a Wholesale Digital Payment System?," GREDEG Working Papers 2025-48, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    • Handle: RePEc:gre:wpaper:2025-48
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://195.220.190.85/GREDEG-WP-2025-48.pdf
    File Function: First version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dominique Torre & Qing Xu, 2025. "Could migrant families encourage the adoption of CBDCs in developing countries?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 45(2), pages 842-853.
    2. Mundell, Robert, 2012. "The case for a world currency," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 568-578.
    3. Luiz Fernando de Paula & Barbara Fritz & Daniela M. Prates, 2017. "Keynes at the periphery: Currency hierarchy and challenges for economic policy in emerging economies," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 183-202, April.
    4. Jim Huangnan Shen & Hao Wang & Steve Chu‐Chia Lin, 2021. "Productivity Gap and Inward FDI Spillovers: Theory and Evidence from China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 29(2), pages 24-48, March.
    5. Basil J. Moore, 2004. "A global currency for a global economy," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 631-653.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vu Hoang Duong & Tuong Phi Vinh, 2024. "Spillover effects of Japanese firms and the role of absorptive capacity in Vietnam," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 38(2), pages 22-41, November.
    2. Karsten Kohler & Engelbert Stockhammer, 2023. "Flexible exchange rates in emerging markets: shock absorbers or drivers of endogenous cycles?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 32(2), pages 551-572.
    3. Zura Kakushadze & Willie Yu, 2019. "iCurrency?," Papers 1911.01272, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2019.
    4. Gabriel Porcile & Gilberto Tadeu Lima, 2023. "Rentiers, Strategic Public Goods, and Financialization in the Periphery," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_1017, Levy Economics Institute.
    5. Gabriel Porcile, 2024. "Rethinking International Relations and Development in Times of Uncertainty," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 55(2), pages 331-347, March.
    6. Liu, Tao, 2015. "Trade finance and international currency," MPRA Paper 64362, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Josef T. Yap, 2008. "Managing Capital Flows : The Case of the Philippines," Development Economics Working Papers 22703, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    8. Kohler, Karsten, 2019. "Exchange rate dynamics, balance sheet effects, and capital flows. A Minskyan model of emerging market boom-bust cycles," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 270-283.
    9. Gegenfurtner, Dennis Andreas, 2021. "The causes of Original Sin: An empirical investigation of emerging market and developing countries," IPE Working Papers 174/2021, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    10. Bonpasse, Morrison, 2007. "The Single Global Currency - Common Cents for Business," MPRA Paper 6199, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. repec:onb:oenbwp:y::i:127:b:1 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Sheng, Andrew & Kwek, Kian-Teng & Cho, Cho-Wai, 2009. "A tale of Asian exchange rate management: Romance of the three currencies," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 519-535, September.
    13. Fontana, Giuseppe & Kamara, Mohamed Sheriff Hamid, 2023. "Towards monetary union in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): Better policy harmonisation and greater intra-trade are needed," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 58-73.
    14. Luca TAUSCH & Guilherme MAGACHO, 2024. "Challenges in the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy for Developing Countries: Estimating Capital-Use Matrices and Imported Needs," Working Paper 3f15bd28-99b0-42ff-863c-4, Agence française de développement.
    15. Sergio Schmukler, 2006. "Comments on R. Cooper, M. Bordo and H. James: Exchange rate arrangements and disarrangements: prospects for a world currency," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 409-414, December.
    16. Gabriel Porcile, 2024. "Sustainable development in a center-periphery model," LEM Papers Series 2024/10, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    17. Belke, Ansgar & Beretta, Edoardo, 2019. "From cash to central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies: A balancing act between modernity and monetary stability," Ruhr Economic Papers 816, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    18. Van Thi Cam Ha & Trang Mai Le & Thao Viet Tran & Huyen Thi Thanh Vu, . "Bridging the productivity gap: A comparative analysis of foreign-owned and domestic firms in Viet Nam," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    19. Pietro Alessandrini & Michele Fratianni, 2007. "Resurrecting Keynes to Revamp the International Monetary System," Working Papers 2007-19, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Department of Business Economics and Public Policy.
    20. Lima, S. S. & Lamônica, M. T. & Feijo, C., 2019. "Financial liberalization and structural change: the Brazilian case in the 2000s," Revista Economia e Sociedade, Instituto de Economia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), vol. 28, April.
    21. Wang, Hao & Fidrmuc, Jan & Luo, Qi, 2021. "A spatial analysis of inward FDI and urban–rural wage inequality in China," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(3).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
    • F36 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gre:wpaper:2025-48. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Patrice Bougette (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/credcfr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.