# De-dollarization, framed without invented statistics

Explainer · Updated 2026-09-07 · Fourth in the reading path  
Canonical: https://whatisbrics.org/articles/de-dollarization/

“De-dollarization” covers several projects. For BRICS: (1) bilateral trade settled in local currencies; (2) payment-messaging work-arounds after sanctions; (3) a hypothetical common currency. Only the first two exist as policy efforts. The third does not exist as money you can hold.

Summit declarations have encouraged local-currency use. The [New Development Bank](https://whatisbrics.org/articles/new-development-bank/) has described local-currency lending as part of its toolkit. Those are official positions, not a measured collapse in dollar invoicing.

**Uncertainty, labeled.** This desk will not invent the share of BRICS trade settled in yuan or the share of reserves leaving the dollar “because of BRICS.” Use IMF COFER or a named agency, and quote the vintage — or say the quantity is unknown.

After 2022, major Russian banks lost SWIFT and much G7 correspondent access — a [sanctions](https://usforeignpolicy.org) fact that made alternative settlement more attractive. War briefing: [armedconflicts.org Russia–Ukraine](https://armedconflicts.org/russia-ukraine-war.html). Payment-system brand names in the press are proposals or pilots until a central bank publishes an operating rulebook.

There is no BRICS currency, no BRICS central bank, and no euro-style treaty. Markets: [usmarketupdates.com](https://usmarketupdates.com), [globalmarketupdates.com](https://globalmarketupdates.com). Cargo geography: OilRoutes’ [Hormuz tanker-traffic note](https://oilroutes.org/articles/strait-of-hormuz-tanker-traffic-2026/), [energy and routes](https://whatisbrics.org/articles/energy-and-routes/). Policy: [BRICS Policy’s trade-and-payments note](https://bricspolicy.org/articles/trade-payments/). Country reserve management: [BRICS Nations’ membership note](https://bricsnations.org/membership/). Process: [summits and institutions](https://whatisbrics.org/articles/summits-and-institutions/). Treaties: [foreigndiplomacy.org](https://foreigndiplomacy.org).