The BRICS Need Gold Bank Accounts

The BRICS consortium, led by China, Russia, India, and Brazil, are considering a new ‘gold settlement architecture’ to protect against financial instability. A quick way to achieve this is by implementing ‘gold checking accounts’ at major financial institutions. These accounts, denominated in grams of gold, allow seamless transactions between account holders. This concept is similar to the American ‘checking account’ or the British ‘current account.’ Many banks in the BRICS countries already offer ‘gold savings accounts,’ but the lack of payment options between accounts is a challenge. To set an example, HSBC’s ‘Gold Current Account’ in Turkey allows transfers between accounts at the same bank. However, interbank payments are not yet supported, which would require a ‘clearinghouse.’