According to economist and financial commentator Vince Lanci, it is intended to be \u201ca basket-backed, collateral-anchored settlement instrument intended specifically for wholesale, cross-border trade in a multipolar financial world\u201d.<\/p>\n
The strategic logic is to reduce the group\u2019s collective trade dependence on the US dollar, euro or yen. In particular, it would lower exchange costs by removing the need to convert local currencies to and from the US dollar.<\/p>\n
It could also increase economic and financial interdependence between Brics+ members, and potentially dampen economic shock waves from the US and the West in the event of a recession \u2013 such as might occur if the current AI bubble were to burst.<\/p>\n
Delegates and heads of state during a plenary session at the Brics Summit. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Should the Unit become an established trade currency, it could challenge the US dollar\u2019s role as the world\u2019s dominant reserve currency. In turn, that could reduce investment in US Treasury securities and other dollar-denominated assets.<\/p>\n
More countries \u2013 especially from the Global South \u2013 would be tempted to join Brics+ to use this alternative payment system. As a former White House economist put it: \u201cIt\u2019d be like a new union of up-and-coming discontents who, on the scale of GDP, now collectively outweigh not only the reigning hegemon, the United States, but the entire G7 weight class put together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Limits, risks and open questions<\/p>\n
The United States is certainly not invulnerable. The US Dollar Index \u2013 which measures the dollar\u2019s performance against a basket of other currencies \u2013 fell by about 8% in 2025.<\/p>\n
In 2024, Brics+ countries held around 6143 tonnes of gold, compared with the US\u2019s 8134 tonnes, while China and India together accumulated an additional 572.5 tonnes between 2019 and 2024.<\/p>\n
Even so, the success of the Unit would depend on Brics+ establishing a credible governance framework that clearly sets out the rules and practices governing its use.<\/p>\n
Some progress has already been made. Work is underway on a common payments system known as Brics Pay, while the Brics+ New Development Bank could potentially issue Units.<\/p>\n
The project would also require strong and sustained backing from all member states to build market confidence.<\/p>\n
And it may also require a degree of political sacrifice and fortitude from Brics+ countries if the US issues higher trade tariffs to Unit users to counteract its own dollar\u2019s decline.<\/p>\n
Time will tell whether the Unit becomes a functioning feature of the global financial system, or remains, as with that R5 banknote, more a symbol of ambition.<\/p>\n