Feature/OPED
BRICS: Considerations and Implications of a Single BRICS Currency
By Franco Macchiavelli
The 15th BRICS Summit, hosted by South Africa in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 August, culminated in the widely anticipated announcement of a soon-to-be expanded BRICS bloc, with the admission of six new member countries to this economic grouping from January 2024.
In the build-up to this year’s BRICS Summit, there has also been some speculation that the grouping might discuss the issuance of a joint currency to compete with the dollar as the reserve currency with world hegemony.
However, this issue was not addressed during the event. South Africa’s representative stated that such an approach was never considered, and India’s foreign minister also dismissed the possibility.
Data from the IMF’s 2023 World Economic Outlook shows that together, these five economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – account for roughly 40 per cent of the world’s population and 20 per cent of global trade flows. Despite the logic behind the idea of introducing a new currency in place of the dollar, the truth is that this would be rather complicated to implement – at least in the short to medium term.
If the idea were to come to fruition, there would be two main approaches:
- Create a new central bank that would issue a single currency to replace the national currencies of each of the five countries (Brazil’s real, Russia’s rouble, India’s rupee, China’s yuan and South Africa’s rand). However, this would require these countries to give up their monetary sovereignty, which would limit their ability to manage the value of their own currency according to their economic needs. To understand this better, if Brazil wanted to depreciate its currency to improve its exports, but the other countries did not agree, Brazil would not be able to make this decision unilaterally. Therefore, we are talking about an important risk in the management of each country and the different factors that affect its growth and economic and monetary management.
- 2. A different scenario would be to adopt the currency of one of the member countries as the BRICS’ own currency, such as China’s yuan. However, this would also present major challenges, as the remaining countries would again lose their monetary sovereignty, this time to China, which could limit their ability to make independent economic decisions. If, for example, China wanted to implement a rate cut to boost domestic economic growth, the remaining BRICS nations would be affected collaterally without having been able to influence China’s decision, also affecting the other economies that might not be experiencing the same characteristics and conditions as China.
In short, both paths are complicated to pursue and present significant obstacles for member countries.
What is certain, however, is that these countries aim to reduce their dependence on the dollar in the future. Currently, when the BRICS sell their products to the rest of the world, they receive payments in dollars and accumulate these dollar-denominated reserves. However, fluctuations in the value of the dollar over the years have posed a significant depreciation risk for these countries.
Most of the BRICS have been accumulating dollar reserves for years, and with the effect of inflation, these have been affected because they have mostly not imported goods but accumulated reserves.
What would happen if, instead of accumulating dollar reserves, they accumulated reserves in another currency through trade among the members themselves?
This brings to mind the recent case of trade between Russia and India:
India has been buying oil from Russia at a significant discount to the price in the West. However, these purchases have been paid for in rupees. So, if we talk in terms of trade, Russia sells oil to India and receives payment in rupees but collaterally faces a significant currency risk, i.e., that rupees depreciate over time even more than the dollar.
Moreover, rupees are only accepted in India and do not have the global hegemony to buy any asset across the world, which complicates the management of its international reserves, unlike the dollar, which is accepted globally in the purchase and sale of any good, asset or service.
Ultimately, despite the search for alternatives to the dollar, replacing it with a new currency poses considerable challenges for the BRICS and makes it unlikely to manifest itself in the near future due to the complexity of its implementation.
Naturally, the addition of six additional nations – Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates will multiply the complexities significantly.
It will be interesting to see what impact the BRICS expansion will have on the global economy and geopolitics, but for now, the dollar will continue to be the dominant trading currency.
Franco Macchiavelli is a Market Analyst at Admirals and a Certified European Financial Advisor (EFA) (Nr 35591)
Trading involves risk.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article reflect those of the writer and do not represent the official opinion of Admirals Group or any of its affiliate companies. This article does not contain and should not be construed as containing investment advice, investment recommendations, an offer of or solicitation for any transactions in financial instruments.
Nigeria’s financial services industry stands at a decisive crossroads as technology leaders prepare for the January 1, 2027, data residency deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The regulatory mandate requiring all payment transaction records, customer personally identifiable information (PII), and account ledgers to reside within domestic data centres is forcing a structural re-evaluation of banking IT architectures. For executive teams across the country, navigating this transition without interrupting daily banking operations is becoming the ultimate test of leadership.
For years, the industry’s reliance on foreign hyperscale providers delivered quick elasticity and global tools. However, transferring entire production stacks – encompassing real-time transaction processing, API gateways, and fraud scoring engines – back to local infrastructure requires significant engineering effort. With the country handling billions of electronic transactions annually, CIOs are seeking to preserve system uptime while severing deep operational dependencies on foreign data centres.
Experts have opined that the core challenge confronting financial technology teams is the lack of empirical, vendor-neutral benchmarks for domestic cloud platforms. Evaluating whether local data centres can sustain mission-critical financial traffic requires rigorous stress testing rather than relying on theoretical SLAs. The risk of potential downtime during a live migration makes vendor vetting the most crucial phase of the compliance roadmap.
To mitigate these operational risks, infrastructure partners like MTN are mobilising domestic capacity and technical insights tailored for the financial sector. By offering sovereign cloud solutions and collaborative engineering frameworks, MTN is helping CIOs and startups navigate the migration path with minimal disruption. Their localised infrastructure serves as an operational bridge, providing the uptime and data sovereignty assurances that both institutions and regulators require.
Lynda Saint-Nwafor, the Chief Enterprise Business Officer for MTN Nigeria, put it succinctly when she explained the upside of hosting data locally: “Hosting locally means lower latency, faster response times, and compliance with Nigeria’s data regulations. More importantly, it gives Nigerian businesses control, keeping sensitive financial, health, and government data within national borders.”
As the January 2027 benchmark approaches, the metric for success will depend on technical execution and operational discipline across companies.
By Osasikemwen Ighile
For many Nigerian families, the summer holiday is a season of fun, relaxation, and spending quality time together. But with the kids at home, more outings, higher electricity consumption, and extra entertainment costs, it’s also a period when expenses can quietly pile up.
The good news? You don’t have to choose between making memories and managing your finances. With a few smart habits, you can enjoy the holidays while keeping your savings goals on track.
Here are five practical ways to save smarter this summer.
1. Ditch Cash and Spend Smarter
Ever noticed how cash disappears faster than you expected? Whether it’s buying snacks for the kids, paying for transport, or making quick market runs, spending cash can make it difficult to track where your money goes.
Using a debit card can make it easier to track transactions and monitor spending. FairMoney customers can use their debit card for eligible transactions, subject to applicable terms and conditions. You can make payments conveniently at stores, shop online, and easily monitor your transactions. Instead of carrying cash everywhere, you get a clearer picture of your expenses and can avoid unnecessary impulse purchases.
Small changes like this can make a big difference over the course of the holiday.
2. The Kids Are Home—Stay Ahead of Your Utility Bills
School holidays often mean one thing: the TV is almost always on. From cartoons in the morning to football matches in the evening, your cable subscription becomes more important than ever. Add fans, air conditioners, gaming consoles, and other appliances, and it’s easy to see why electricity bills tend to increase during this period.
Rather than waiting until services are disconnected, planning and paying bills on time help households avoid unnecessary late-payment or reconnection charges. FairMoney customers can pay eligible bills and services through the platform, subject to applicable terms and service availability. You can conveniently pay for Cable TV subscriptions, Electricity bills, Internet subscriptions, Airtime and data for the entire family.
Paying bills on time can help reduce the risk of late payment consequences or applicable reconnection charges. Summer is filled with birthdays, outings, family visits, and spontaneous spending. While these moments are worth enjoying, your savings shouldn’t take a holiday.
3. Enjoy the Holidays—but Don’t Pause Your Savings
A simple strategy is to save first before spending. FairMoney customers can also use eligible savings products, such as FairSave and FairTarget, to set aside money towards specific financial goals, subject to the applicable product terms, conditions and eligibility requirements, even if it’s in small amounts. Already planning for the next school term? FairMoney customers can also use eligible savings products, such as FairSave and FairTarget, to set aside money towards specific financial goals, subject to the applicable product terms, conditions and eligibility requirements. Already planning for the next school term? Consider setting aside money regularly towards your school-fee goal. FairTarget can be used to help you organise savings around specific financial goals, subject to the applicable product terms, conditions and eligibility requirements. By starting early and saving consistently, you can better prepare for school-related expenses when the new term begins.
4. Plan Weekly Family Activities Instead of Daily Spending
The holidays don’t have to be expensive to be memorable. Instead of spending money every day on outings, cinemas, or restaurants, create a simple weekly activity plan. One weekend could be a family movie night at home. Another could be a picnic in a nearby park, a cooking competition, indoor games, or a visit to relatives.
Planning activities ahead helps you control spending while still giving everyone something to look forward to. Sometimes, the best memories cost very little.
5. Buy Household Essentials in Bulk
With everyone at home, groceries seem to disappear twice as fast. Instead of making frequent trips to the store, which often lead to impulse purchases, consider buying regularly used items in bulk.
Depending on the retailer and quantity purchased, some household essentials may offer better value when purchased in bulk.. You’ll spend less on transportation, reduce unplanned shopping, and avoid running out of important items.
Summer should be about creating happy memories not financial headaches. By spending more intentionally, paying your bills on time, planning ahead, and staying committed to your savings goals, you can enjoy everything the season has to offer without putting unnecessary pressure on your finances.
A few smart habits today can make the months ahead much easier. And that’s a win for every household.
Osasikemwen Ighile is the Brand Manager for FairMoney Microfinance Bank
Feature/OPED
Beyond the Screen: How Sports and Entertainment Keep Nigeria’s Economy Moving
When we talk about Nigeria’s economy, the conversation usually centres on oil and gas, banking, agriculture, manufacturing and technology. But there is another industry quietly creating jobs and driving economic activity: entertainment and sports. Most times, we only see the finished product. We watch the show, cheer during the match and move on to the […]
When we talk about Nigeria’s economy, the conversation usually centres on oil and gas, banking, agriculture, manufacturing and technology. But there is another industry quietly creating jobs and driving economic activity: entertainment and sports. Most times, we only see the finished product. We watch the show, cheer during the match and move on to the next thing. What we do not always see is the amount of work that happens before those moments reach our screens.
Take Big Brother Naija
When viewers tune in and see the housemates moving around the Big Brother house, it is easy to forget that the house itself is a product of many people’s work. From the interior designers and set builders who create the spaces to the electricians, carpenters, painters and technicians who bring them to life, an entire team works behind the scenes before the first episode even begins.
Once the cameras start rolling, the list gets even longer. Producers, directors, camera operators, sound engineers, editors, stylists, makeup artists, caterers, production assistants and security personnel all have a role to play. Then there is everything that happens outside the house. Publicists, photographers, videographers, digital teams, content creators and media platforms all contribute to keeping the conversation going. The housemates may be the faces audiences remember, but they are only one part of a much bigger entertainment ecosystem.
Sports have a similar impact
When the Super Falcons play a major game, the focus is naturally on the players and what happens on the pitch. But outside the stadium, the game can mean business for viewing centres, food vendors, restaurants and bars. Sports analysts and commentators have more to cover, content creators have something new to create around and businesses selling jerseys and football merchandise get an opportunity to make sales.
A major sporting event can turn an ordinary evening into a busy one for businesses that have little to do with what happens on the pitch. That is the part of sports and entertainment that is easy to overlook. The value is not only in the stars we see or the content we consume. It is also in the network of people whose skills and businesses keep these industries moving.
And this is where DStv and GOtv become an important part of the picture. They do more than give audiences access to the shows, matches and moments they care about. They connect the people producing this content with millions of viewers who keep the industry going.
Every time someone tunes in to Big Brother Naija, follows the Super Falcons or settles in for a major sporting event, they are engaging with an industry that supports producers, creatives, technicians, businesses and other professionals.
The impact of sports and entertainment, therefore, goes beyond what happens on the screen. By bringing some of the biggest entertainment and sporting moments to Nigerian audiences, DStv and GOtv help keep this ecosystem active, visible and working. Because sometimes, when we sit down to watch, we are not just consuming entertainment. We are also supporting an industry that provides jobs.
