ISSN (print) - 0131-7652

ISSN (online) - 2686-7605

Vol. 54 No. 3 (2024)
Cover story: The US dollar – so Far «Flying»

Problems of Transition to Settlements in National Currencies within BRICS and the Project of a New Unit of Account, the uniclear-BRICS-9

Requires Subscription or Fee PDF (Русский) (RUB 100)
  • I.V. Pilipenko
I.V. Pilipenko
Institute for Competitiveness and Integration (RICI); BRICS Expert Council – Russia, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
Bio
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30680/ECO0131-7652-2024-3-52-79

Published 2024-06-03

Keywords

  • BRICS; currency; financial infrastructure; volatility; devaluation; payment and settlement system; clearing payment system; uniclear

How to Cite

1.
Pilipenko И. Problems of Transition to Settlements in National Currencies within BRICS and the Project of a New Unit of Account, the uniclear-BRICS-9. ECO [Internet]. 2024 Jun. 3 [cited 2024 Jul. 27];54(3):52-79. Available from: https://ecotrends.ru/index.php/eco/article/view/4735

Abstract

The year of 2024 marks the presidency of the Russian Federation in BRICS that prioritised the issue of building the financial infrastructure, which is independent from the Western influence. This article considers three major problems on the way to increasing payments in national currencies of the BRICS member states. These are the increased volatility of local currencies’ exchange rates, devaluations and gaps in inflation levels between the BRICS countries and developed states, the problem of fragmentation of national and regional payment and settlement systems as well as insufficient liquidity on the Russian foreign exchange market. The analysis rests upon the author’s calculations of volatility of 17 currency pairs of five BRICS member states and major reserve currencies, and the level of inflation in nine BRICS countries during the period from 2010 to March 2024. The progress in developing payment and settlement systems, fast payment systems and central bank digital currencies is also examined. The author proposes the method of calculating values of a new unit of account called the uniclear-BRICS-9 to be used within the clearing payment system. The article also presents the results of computations of exchange rates of nine BRICS members for the period from 2000 to 2022 that are approximated to purchasing power parity values. In conclusion, recommendations are formulated with the aim of overcoming the problems on the way to settlementsin national currencies, and advantages of the new method of calculating the values of the uniclear-BRICS-9 and exchange rates of local currencies are highlighted.
Requires Subscription or Fee PDF (Русский) (RUB 100)

References

  1. Борисов С.М. Российский рубль – резервная валюта? // Деньги и кредит. 2008. № 3. С. 17‒21.
  2. Ершов М.В. Мировой финансовый кризис. Что дальше? М.: Экономика, 2011. 295 с.
  3. Глазунов А.В., Швандар К.В., Анисимова А.А. Развитие национальных платежных систем как актуальная тенденция // Финансовый журнал. 2016. № 5. С. 94–102.
  4. Глазьев С.Ю. Национальная валютно-финансовая система: дестабилизирующие усилия Запада и меры по их нейтрализации // Российский экономический журнал. 2015. № 4. С. 34–43.
  5. Горбунова М.Л., Ливанова Е.Ю., Елизарова Н.К., Овчинников В.Н. Пул условных валютных резервов БРИКС в системе режимов многостороннего управления мировыми финансами // Вестник Нижегородского университета им. Н.И. Лобачевского. Серия: Социальные науки. 2017. № 4 (48). С. 7–18.
  6. Маслов А.В., Швандар К.В. Новые международные проекты по использованию цифровых валют центральных банков в трансформации трансграничных расчетов // Финансовый журнал. 2023. № 2. С. 47–58. DOI: 10.31107/2075–1990–2023–2–47–58
  7. Миркин Я.М. Развивающиеся рынки и Россия в структуре глобальных финансов: финансовое будущее, многолетние тренды. М.: Магистр, 2015. 176 с.
  8. Мишина В.Ю., Хомякова Л.И. Дедолларизация и расчеты в национальных валютах: евразийский и латиноамериканский опыт // Вопросы экономики. 2020. № 9. С. 61–79. DOI: 10.32609/0042–8736–2020–9–61–79
  9. Пилипенко И.В. Методика применения валютного клиринга во внешней торговле Российской Федерации в условиях санкций. М.: Изд. дом «Научная библиотека», 2022. 448 с.
  10. Пилипенко И.В. Особенности деятельности многосторонних банков развития, созданных в 2000–2010 гг., в странах Евразийского экономического союза (часть I) // Проблемы современной экономики. 2020. № 1 (73). C. 12–17.
  11. Сторчак С.А. Пора договориться о прекращении расширения тематики, с которой работает БРИКС // Индекс безопасности. 2015. Т. 21. № 2 (113). С. 13–17.
  12. Barnett, W.A. (2016). Friedman and Divisia Monetary Measures. Milton Friedman: Contributions to Economics and Public Policy / Edited by R. Cord, D. Hammond. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Pp. 264–291.
  13. Batista, Jr. P.N. (2023). BRICS Financial and Monetary Initiatives – the New Development Bank, the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, and a Possible New Currency. Valdai Discussion Club. 03 October. Available at: https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/brics-financial-and-monetary-initiatives/ (accessed 19.02.2024).
  14. Bindseil, U., Pantelopoulos, G. (2022). Towards the Holy Grail of Cross-Border Payments. ECB Working Paper Series, No. 2693. August. 57 p.
  15. Bolt, W., Lubbersen, V., Wierts, P. (2022). Getting the Balance Right: Crypto, Stablecoin and CBDC. De Nederlandsche Bank Working Paper, No. 736. 17 p.
  16. Dark, C., Rogerson, E., Rowbotham, N., Wallis, P. (2022). Stablecoins: Market Developments, Risks and Regulation. Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin, December. Pp. 43–51.
  17. Eichengreen, B. (2011). The renminbi as an international currency. Journal of Policy Modeling. Vol. 33. Iss. 5. Pp. 723–730. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2011.07.004
  18. Emminger, O. (1975). International Financial Markets and the Recycling of Petrodollars. The World Today. Vol. 31. No. 3. Pp. 95–103.
  19. Fisher, I. (1920). The Purchasing Power of Money: Its Determination and Relation to Credit, Interest and Crises (New and revised edition). New York, The Macmillan Company. 515 p.
  20. Friedman, M. (1970). A Theoretical Framework for Monetary Analysis. Journal of Political Economy. Vol. 78. No. 2. Pp. 193–238.
  21. Gopinath, G. (2015). The International Price System. NBER Working Papers. No. 21646. National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. 58 p.
  22. Gopinath, G., Stein, J.C. (2021). Banking, Trade, and the Making of a Dominant Currency. Quarterly Journal of Economics. Vol. 136. Iss. 2. Pp. 783–830. DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjaa036
  23. Laurila, J. (1995). Finnish-Soviet Clearing Trade and Payment System: History and Lessons. Bank of Finland Studies A:94. Helsinki, Suomen Pankki/Bank of Finland. 145 p.