A payment system is not just technology, it is also an institutional construction: who makes decisions, who bears responsibility, how disputes are settled. If you do that as a regular corporation, you end up with a single owner — and therefore a single point of pressure and failure. So BRICS Pay is built on a different principle — as a decentralised partnership of equals.
What the Consortium is — three definitions
“Consortium” (from Latin consortium — “partnership, fellowship”) historically means a temporary grouping of organisations united for a joint task — for example, building the Channel Tunnel or running the International Space Station.
The BRICS Pay Consortium is not a corporation, not a foundation and not a government body. It is a contractual partnership of technology companies, financial institutions, lawyers and regulators united by a common goal: building and developing a decentralised payment infrastructure. In form it is closest to modern DAO models from the crypto world (CryptoFed DAO, Alliance DAO, Aragon, OpenZeppelin), adapted to the realities of the regulated financial sector across BRICS+.
Six principles
Six fundamental principles underpin the Consortium’s work, each setting it apart from a standard corporation.
- Equality. No participant has a veto or dominant influence. No country, no bank, no tech company can unilaterally block a decision or change the rules. Everyone votes; consensus is required.
- Autonomy. Every participating organisation remains legally independent. It is not absorbed by the Consortium, does not become a subsidiary, does not lose its brand. It simply works jointly with others on a defined set of issues.
- Openness. Any qualified organisation can join through an official channel. There is no “closed club”, no privileged access. Like open IT standards (IETF, W3C) — whoever wants to participate and meets the requirements can.
- Transparency. All Consortium decisions and updates are published publicly. That sharply reduces the risk of back-room deals and conflicts of interest. Each member sees what is happening and can verify votes.
- Adaptability. The Consortium evolves with regulatory and technological change. New law in one country? — the Consortium discusses and adapts the rules. New technology (e.g. quantum cryptography)? — it is reviewed and adopted.
- Accountability. Members are responsible for their actions and decisions. This is fixed in the membership agreements. Rule-breakers face procedures from a reprimand up to expulsion.
Structure and governance
The Consortium has three levels — and it’s important to keep them distinct.
- Legal basis: a simple partnership under the national law of each side. In every member country the Consortium agreement is formalised under local law — Russian participants under the Russian Civil Code, Brazilian under Brazilian law, and so on. There is no unified “supra-state”.
- Status: the Consortium is not itself a legal entity — it is a decentralised network of partners bound by common contracts. For specific projects, joint ventures with their own legal entity may be set up — for example, the operator of a particular national payment node.
- Governing body: the Consortium Council takes strategic decisions. It is made up of representatives of all member states and major partners. Decisions — by consensus or qualified majority depending on the topic.
- Operational work: done through topical working groups — the level where practical decisions and concrete projects happen.
Working groups — where the work happens
Strategic decisions of the Council are one thing; day-to-day system development is another. To avoid turning every technical discussion into an international conference, the Consortium runs six standing working groups. Each handles a narrow direction:
- B2B — corporate settlements between companies. Everything around inter-corporate payments: tariffs, minimum amounts, document formats, compliance requirements.
- C2B — retail payments. Tourism, in-store, e-commerce. The mass channel — UI designers, UX specialists, marketers work here.
- DeFi and decentralised finance. Integration with stablecoins, CBDCs, crypto wallets. Technically the most “cutting-edge” group, responsible for keeping BRICS Pay current with crypto-finance.
- Technology and infrastructure. Servers, networks, protocols, security. DCMS — the system core — lives here.
- Regulation and compliance. Coordination with national regulators, legal analysis of changes in law.
- AML/KYC and anti-laundering. The most invisible, most critical group — without its work any payment system would quickly become a tool of crime.
What the groups do — in more detail
- Develop and roll out new technology and payment infrastructure.
- Build payment infrastructure in neutral BRICS+ jurisdictions.
- Create multi-currency liquidity pools — special accounts where money sits to enable fast swaps between different currencies.
- Integrate national and international payment systems (SBP, UPI, Pix, SWIFT, etc.).
- Share technology, data and best practices in digital finance among members.
- Provide settlement services — the concrete products users actually see.
Who can join the Consortium
Openness is the main principle. Four kinds of organisations can join:
- Banks — commercial, state-owned, central. From a small local bank to an international financial group. Main requirements — a valid licence and compliance.
- Fintech firms — startups and mature players in payments, crypto, banking technology. Especially those that have built their own mobile-payment apps or processing systems.
- Regulators — central banks, finance ministries, antitrust agencies. Their participation is critical for system legitimacy.
- Technology firms — blockchain-infrastructure developers, AI startups, cybersecurity.
To join, you need to:
- File a membership application at brics-pay.com/consortium.
- Sign the Consortium agreement — a legally binding document.
- Pass due diligence — financial standing, reputation, no presence on sanctions lists.
- Receive a Council vote and access to working groups in your areas of activity.
Why this matters for users
It may seem the Consortium’s setup is “backstage stuff” of no interest to ordinary users. In fact, this institutional construction provides three key guarantees for everyone using the system:
- No unilateral disconnection. No one can “switch off” a country or a particular bank at will — that requires a majority of the Consortium.
- No hidden rule changes. All decisions are public; any change to tariffs, policies or technical requirements is debated in the open.
- No capture by a single player. Even if a country or company tried to “take over” the system, it could not — they have only one voice among many.
The future of finance isn’t controlled. It is built together.
— BRICS Pay Consortium Manifesto