India is exploring faster cross-border transactions by linking its digital rupee with CBDCs in Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam, signalling a flexible approach to international trade and payments amid political and technical hurdles within BRICS.
India is exploring a faster way to move money across borders by linking its digital rupee with central bank digital currencies in other countries, with Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam among the nations now in discussion, according to Business Today. The plan is part of a wider push to make cross-border payments quicker, cheaper and less dependent on traditional banking intermediaries.
The idea has gathered pace after the BRICS summit process, where New Delhi has pressed for closer interoperability between members’ payment systems. Reuters-style reporting in Indian financial media has described the proposal as a way to improve settlement efficiency among BRICS economies, while avoiding any suggestion that the bloc is seeking a single network to challenge the US dollar. The emphasis, according to those reports, is on linking systems rather than replacing existing currencies.
That distinction matters because the project faces both political and technical hurdles. Coverage from Onmanorama, IDN Financials, Moneycontrol and Business Standard has noted that tensions between some BRICS members, together with the complexity of aligning different central bank digital currency platforms, could slow progress. Even so, the Reserve Bank of India is said to have recommended that digital-currency links be included in summit discussions, reflecting the central bank’s interest in finding practical uses for the e-rupee beyond domestic pilot projects.
The digital rupee itself is still in a pilot phase, but officials are also examining other payment channels, including settlement in local currencies, bilateral currency arrangements and broader use of the rupee in trade, Business Today reported. Taken together, those options suggest India is pursuing a more flexible international payments strategy rather than relying on a single route for trade and tourism transactions.
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