The BRICS bloc is considering integrating national instant-payment systems and CBDCs to streamline cross-border transactions, reduce costs, and promote trade in local currencies amid India’s push for financial cooperation during its presidency.
The BRICS bloc is weighing a deeper financial link-up that would connect national instant-payment systems and central bank digital currencies, a move aimed at lowering the cost of cross-border transfers and making it easier to settle trade in members’ own currencies. According to Revista Fórum, the discussion reflects a broader push to build a more integrated payments network inside the group and reduce dependence on third-party currencies.
Sanjay Malhotra, head of the Reserve Bank of India, raised the issue at an event in Mumbai on Tuesday, saying cross-border payments have become a central part of the bloc’s financial agenda. The Economic Times reported that India is using its 2026 BRICS presidency to press for smoother digital payments across member states, with the central bank favouring CBDC-based cooperation over stablecoins for international trade.
The idea is still at an early stage. Malhotra said several models remain under review, including linking fast-payment systems as well as connecting central bank digital currencies. That broader approach echoes analysis from the BRICS Council and other regional commentators, which say such interoperability could cut transaction times and fees while making payments simpler for businesses and travellers.
India is also pushing to expand the international use of the rupee. Officials want more trade and settlement to happen directly in local currencies rather than through a third currency, a strategy that fits with earlier BRICS discussions about a payments architecture designed to work across national systems such as India’s UPI, China’s CIPS, Brazil’s PIX and Russia’s SPFS.
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