India advocates for expanding central bank digital currency links among BRICS members to enhance cross-border transactions, while avoiding a unified payments network that could challenge the US dollar, amid cautious diplomacy and technical hurdles.
India is set to press its fellow BRICS members to expand the use of central bank digital currencies for cross-border payments, while avoiding support for a single bloc-wide payments network that could be read as a direct challenge to the US dollar, according to people familiar with the discussions. With India holding the rotating BRICS chair this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to favour a more limited approach focused on settling bilateral trade through central bank-backed digital money rather than building a single shared system.
That position reflects both ambition and caution. According to reports from Livemint and other Indian outlets, New Delhi sees CBDC links as a way to make payments faster and more efficient among BRICS members, while sidestepping the political symbolism of a unified system. The idea builds on language in the 2025 BRICS declaration calling for greater interoperability between member states’ payment systems, but the practical hurdles remain significant.
Those hurdles are not only technical. Reporting from multiple Indian publications says deeper trust would be needed between some members, especially India and China, whose relationship remains strained. Limited global adoption of CBDCs also complicates the proposal, since most countries are still testing or piloting the technology rather than using it at scale.
The issue is likely to be discussed at the BRICS leaders’ summit in New Delhi, but a formal agreement on a common settlements architecture appears unlikely. Rediff reported that the final New Delhi Declaration did not include a firm commitment on payment-system interoperability, suggesting that while local-currency trade remains a long-term goal, the bloc still lacks a concrete payment framework to underpin it.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
