BRICS nations are considering a unified payment infrastructure linking member states’ digital currencies and instant payment systems, aiming to lower costs and accelerate cross-border transactions amid growing geopolitical and financial ambitions.
BRICS is weighing a plan to connect member states’ instant payment networks and central bank digital currencies, in a move aimed at cutting the cost and speeding up cross-border transfers across the bloc. Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the discussions are under way, according to comments carried by Brazilian media and reported by TV BRICS.
Malhotra said the idea is to bring currently separate national systems closer together and build a smoother payments layer across economies that account for a large share of global trade and output. He said cross-border payment costs are a common concern among BRICS members and added that there is strong potential to lower them through deeper financial links.
The exact design of any shared system has not been settled. Malhotra said the technical parameters, the model for integration and the implementation timetable are all still being discussed, suggesting the project remains at an early stage despite growing political interest. India, which holds the BRICS chairmanship this year, is hosting the group’s annual summit and therefore has a central role in pushing the agenda forward.
The idea also fits into a broader BRICS effort to create alternative payment rails. Industry reports have described BRICS Pay as a planned cross-border system for direct transactions in local currencies, with proposed links to existing domestic platforms such as Brazil’s Pix, Russia’s SPFS and China’s CIPS. Other BRICS-linked analysis says the wider objective is to reduce reliance on dollar-based clearing and correspondent banking, while improving financial sovereignty and resilience.
The payment talks may also matter for Nigeria, which became a BRICS partner country in January 2025 after Brazil announced its admission. Brazil said at the time that Nigeria’s size, population and role in South-South cooperation made it a natural fit for the expanded framework. Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar later backed BRICS’ push for a fairer, rules-based international order, underlining how partner countries could benefit if any future payments network is widened beyond the core members.
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