At a major summit in Russia last year, a banknote was unveiled that carried more symbolism than monetary value.

It hinted at the growing ambitions of BRICS+ – a group of emerging economies anchored by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – to develop alternatives to the existing global financial system.

The banknote itself, ringed with national flags and multilingual text, was dubbed an R5: acknowledging the ruble, real, rupee, renminbi and rand of the bloc's core members.

Now, there are moves to turn that symbolism into something more concrete. This December, speculation increased around plans for a new BRICS+ currency and payment system known as the UNIT.

Designed by the International Reserve and Investment Asset System, the UNIT is backed by a fixed reserve basket of 40% gold (by weight) and 60% in BRICS+ currencies. It would be delivered via a digital platform using transparent blockchain technology.