Cross-border payments among emerging economies are back in focus, and India wants digital currencies to play a bigger role in fixing what it sees as a slow and costly system.
Behind closed doors, the Reserve Bank of India has floated an idea that would allow central bank digital currencies issued by BRICS nations to work together for everyday international payments. People familiar with the discussions say the concept could be formally raised at the 2026 BRICS summit, which India is set to host.
Key Takeaways
India’s central bank is exploring ways to link BRICS digital currencies for cross-border payments.
The idea could be discussed at the 2026 BRICS summit hosted by India, but talks remain early.
The focus is on payment efficiency and interoperability, not creating a BRICS currency or replacing the US dollar.
A practical payments problem, not a new currency
The proposal is not about creating a single BRICS currency. Instead, it focuses on interoperability – allowing existing digital currencies to connect so money can move more directly between member states for trade and tourism.
Within the BRICS group, cross-border transactions still rely heavily on traditional correspondent banking networks. These systems are slow, expensive, and often routed through third currencies. Linking CBDCs could reduce settlement times and costs without rewriting the global financial order.
If adopted, it would mark the first time BRICS formally explores CBDCs as a shared payments tool, even though several members already run advanced digital currency pilots at home.
India’s digital currency ambitions
For India, the idea fits neatly into its broader digital finance strategy. The country’s e-rupee has already been rolled out domestically and gained millions of users through pilot programs. The RBI has repeatedly hinted that the next phase involves pushing the digital rupee beyond national borders.
Connecting it with other sovereign digital currencies would turn the e-rupee from a domestic experiment into part of a regional settlement network, especially for trade flows where BRICS countries already have deep ties.
Talks are early and complex
Despite the ambition, discussions remain exploratory. Any agreement would require coordination on technology standards, governance rules, compliance frameworks, and how imbalances between countries are settled. Even aligning basic transaction rails across five very different financial systems would be a major undertaking.
That complexity is one reason the idea has not moved beyond internal policy conversations so far.
Not about challenging the dollar
BRICS officials have consistently pushed back against claims that the bloc is trying to undermine the US dollar. That message has been repeated by Russia, Brazil, and others amid speculation about alternative reserve currencies.
The CBDC interoperability proposal follows the same line. It is framed around efficiency and modernization, not de-dollarization. Still, improving direct settlement between large emerging economies would inevitably reduce reliance on intermediary currencies over time, even if that is not the stated goal.
A sign of where digital money is heading
If the proposal makes it onto the 2026 summit agenda, it would signal a shift in how central banks view digital currencies – from domestic payment tools to cross-border infrastructure.
Rather than launching a bold new currency, India appears to be betting on something more incremental: making existing systems talk to each other. For BRICS, that could be a quieter but more realistic step toward reshaping how money moves between their economies.
