India is urging BRICS nations to deepen cross-border payment cooperation through local and digital currencies, aiming to accelerate trade settlement and reduce dependence on the US dollar, with a focus on interoperability rather than a unified currency network.
India is pressing BRICS partners to deepen cross-border payment links through local currencies and central bank digital currencies, in a move designed to make trade settlement quicker and less dependent on the dollar. The proposal reflects a broader effort to improve interoperability between national payment systems rather than build a single bloc-wide currency network, according to reporting by Business Today and Business Standard.
The Reserve Bank of India put forward the idea in January 2026, suggesting that BRICS countries connect their own digital currencies to support trade and tourism payments. Sources cited by IDN Financials and The Economic Times said the plan is expected to feature in discussions at the 2026 BRICS summit, building on earlier calls for smoother payment channels across the group.
Business Standard reported that India is backing bilateral use of CBDCs, or central bank digital currencies, while stopping short of supporting a unified BRICS payments system that could be seen as an overt challenge to the dollar. The approach points to what analysts have described as functional de-dollarisation: reducing reliance on a single currency without seeking to replace it outright.
India’s pitch also draws on its own digital payments experience, particularly the widespread use of UPI, which has helped the country position itself as a leader in low-cost, instant transactions. According to Moneycontrol and BRICS-related coverage, officials are framing the proposal as a practical way to cut settlement costs, reduce dependence on correspondent banks and speed up cross-border transfers, even as technical and regulatory hurdles remain for member states.
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