BRICS Pay frequently asked questions

Can I download the app today?

Yes. Both apps are published. BRICS Pay is in Google Play (com.bricsPay) and the App Store (id6751258985), with 10K+ installs. BRICS Pay Wallet: Crypto&DeFi is in Google Play (com.brics), with 1K+ installs (Wallet on iOS still in development). Both come from NB PAY FZCO, last update March 2026.

What is qr.brics-pay.com — a registration form?

No. As of today qr.brics-pay.com is an empty landing page with no functionality. Registration happens exclusively inside the BRICS Pay app: pick a country → enter phone or email → confirm 2FA → set Passcode → pass KYC.

What is the difference between BRICS Pay App and BRICS Pay Wallet?

BRICS Pay App — payment app for C2B: link a Visa, scan a QR at merchants in BRICS+. Custodial (via PSP), sign-up by email/phone.

BRICS Pay Wallet — non-custodial crypto wallet: 600+ blockchains, swaps, staking, DEX aggregator. Sign-up by seed phrase, keys stay with the user.

Detailed comparison on the “Wallet” page.

When will BRICS Pay be fully live?

Current targets:

• Late 2024 — pilot for foreign tourists in Russia.
• H1 2025 — Russians abroad (Türkiye, Egypt, the Maldives, Sri Lanka).
• End of 2026 — pilot launch (per Sergey Lavrov at the Rio summit).
• 2027–2028 — working prototype (Freedom Finance Global forecast).
• 2030 — full operational status (Sergey Ryabkov, deputy head of the Russian MFA).

Is BRICS Pay a new currency?

No. BRICS Pay is a platform for settlements in existing currencies: rouble, yuan, rupee, real, rand and other national currencies. The idea of a “single BRICS currency” is discussed as a separate possible project, but it is not BRICS Pay. The related BRICS Bridge tests stablecoins backed by the IMF SDR basket (NSRT S) and a basket of staples and water (BFT).

Is it a SWIFT replacement?

No. BRICS Pay is a parallel infrastructure, not a substitute. SWIFT processes about USD 150 trillion a year and connects 11,000+ institutions in 200+ countries. BRICS Pay creates a sanctions-resistant alternative for settlements in national currencies between BRICS+ countries — it does not displace SWIFT for the rest of the world. According to analysts, “a functional SWIFT alternative is decades away”.

Is BRICS Pay safe to use?

The architecture is decentralised: there is no single off-switch. Messages are encrypted and digitally signed. All payments go through AML/KYC at licensed PSPs. 2FA, biometrics (Face ID), Passcode, data encryption are supported. A transparent immutable transaction log is kept.

Which Russian banks support BRICS Pay?

You can link a card via banks with their own acquiring; the most convenient are Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, T-Bank, VTB. The exact list of issuing and acquiring banks is not publicly disclosed and is shown in the app at registration.

Which cards can I link?

Visa, Mastercard, Mir (Russia), RuPay (India), China UnionPay (China), ELO (Brazil). You don’t need a new account — the system works with the card you already have.

Where is BRICS Pay accepted?

Pilot — Russia (for foreign tourists since late 2024), Türkiye, Egypt, the Maldives, Sri Lanka (for Russians since H1 2025). Expansion to all BRICS+ members and partners during 2026.

What is the fee for a payment?

There is no mandatory protocol-level fee in DCMS — fees are set by acquiring banks and PSPs. In pilots a transaction is 30–50% cheaper than SWIFT; FX savings are 8–15%. B2B terms are individual. More on the “Fees” page.

Is there a physical BRICS Pay card?

There are no permanent plastic cards — every operation goes through the digital wallet and QR codes. For the BRICS Business Forum demo in October 2024 test cards with a 500-rouble balance were issued, but plastic is not a planned product.

Will users be sanctioned for using BRICS Pay?

The system itself is decentralised and has no single point of control, which makes direct sanctions against the infrastructure hard. US tariff threats (e.g. Trump’s “100% on de-dollarisation”) target governments, not individual users. The legal status of operations is determined by the user’s country of residence.

Does BRICS Pay support cryptocurrencies?

Yes. The Wallet runs on a self-custody multi-chain model and supports 600+ blockchains and tokens. There is also CBDC integration (e-CNY, e-INR, digital rouble), the NSRT S stablecoin and the BRICS Food Token (BFT) by Digital Bank BRICS.

What is BRICS Payment Task Force?

The BRICS Payments & Fintech Task Force is a working group of the BRICS Business Council, established by the Moscow Declaration of 17 November 2020. It is composed of finance and bank-tech experts from the five founding countries. Its job is to coordinate the development of BRICS Pay and related initiatives.

How do I activate the referral code?

After registration in the BRICS Pay app, in the referral section (Promo / Referral / Bonus) enter XO6XJLND and confirm. If the section is not visible yet — update the app or wait for the feature to be released. Read more: “Referral code”.

Is BRICS Pay the same thing as SBP?

No. SBP — the Faster Payment System of the Bank of Russia — works only inside Russia. BRICS Pay is an international infrastructure for settlements between BRICS+ countries and partners. SBP can act as a “national node” to which BRICS Pay connects (the same way UPI does in India or Pix in Brazil).

Where do I check the latest official information?

• Main site: brics-pay.com (Russian version available).
• Documentation: docs.brics-pay.com.
• App support: support@brics-pay.com.

Can I integrate BRICS Pay into my online shop?

Yes. You need a B2B contract with the BRICS Pay consortium via b2bricspay.com. Integration is via the E-Commerce POS API — a standard interface comparable to Visa, ЮMoney or CloudPayments. Each merchant gets a personal manager.

What is the minimum B2B transfer amount?

USD 2,000. Set deliberately low so SMEs can use the system. By comparison, many traditional cross-border settlements only become economical from USD 10,000 due to fixed bank charges. There is no upper limit — a single transaction can be USD 200,000 or a million.

What is multilateral netting?

A simple example: company A owes B a million, B owes C a million, C owes A a million. In a normal system that means three transfers totalling three million. With multilateral netting the system sees the debts close into a circle and no actual transfer is required. In BRICS Pay pilots this reduces liquidity needs roughly tenfold.