India Pushes Digital Currency Linkages to Strengthen BRICS Cross-Border Payments
India is seeking to advance a new approach to cross-border payments among BRICS nations by promoting greater interoperability between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The proposal is expected to feature prominently at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12–13, as India uses its 2026 chairmanship to encourage practical cooperation in trade, technology and finance.
The idea is not to create a single BRICS currency. Instead, India is advocating stronger links between the digital currencies issued by individual central banks. Such connectivity could eventually allow countries to settle international transactions more directly, potentially reducing costs, shortening settlement times and making cross-border trade more efficient.
Building on India's Digital Payments Experience
India enters these discussions with considerable experience in large-scale digital payments. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has developed into one of the world's largest retail fast-payment systems. In August 2026 alone, UPI processed 24.51 billion transactions worth around ₹29.82 trillion, demonstrating the scale of India's digital payments infrastructure.
India has also been expanding UPI's international footprint through links with payment systems in other countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for further integration of UPI with overseas payment networks, particularly in countries with strong trade and people-to-people connections with India. The experience gained from these international linkages could provide a useful foundation for wider cooperation within BRICS.
CBDCs Could Make Cross-Border Transactions More Efficient
CBDCs are digital forms of national currencies issued by central banks. Unlike private cryptocurrencies, they remain under the authority of monetary institutions. India's digital rupee initiative has already given the Reserve Bank of India experience in developing and testing a sovereign digital currency.
Linking CBDCs between countries could create new possibilities for international settlements. Instead of relying entirely on traditional correspondent banking networks, participating financial institutions could potentially use interoperable digital systems to settle transactions more quickly and transparently.
For businesses, exporters and importers, the benefits could include faster settlement and lower transaction costs. For individuals sending money across borders, improved digital connectivity could also make remittances more convenient.
The Proposal Builds on Existing BRICS Payment Cooperation
India's proposal is part of a broader BRICS effort to improve cross-border payment connectivity. The grouping has already discussed making national payment systems more interoperable and encouraging greater use of local currencies in transactions between member states.
The objective is therefore broader than CBDCs alone. UPI, national payment systems, local-currency settlements and CBDCs could eventually form complementary parts of a more efficient financial ecosystem linking BRICS economies.
This approach also represents a more practical path than immediately pursuing a common BRICS currency. India has indicated that the purpose of the digital-currency proposal is to make international payments easier and faster rather than replace the US dollar as the world's principal reserve currency.
Strengthening Trade and Remittances
More efficient cross-border payment infrastructure could have a direct impact on trade within the expanded BRICS grouping. Businesses operating across member countries could benefit from faster settlements and potentially lower costs, while greater payment connectivity could encourage smaller companies to participate in international trade.
Remittances are another important area. India is one of the world's largest recipients of money sent home by overseas workers. Greater interoperability between payment systems could eventually provide more efficient channels for transferring money between BRICS economies. The potential benefits extend beyond India, as other BRICS countries also have substantial trade and migrant-worker flows.
Significant Challenges Still Remain
Creating a connected digital-payment ecosystem across BRICS will not be simple. The grouping now includes 11 countries with very different financial systems, regulations, currencies and economic priorities. Reaching agreement on technical standards, cybersecurity, data protection and foreign-exchange arrangements would require extensive coordination.
Political and strategic differences could also complicate the process. Reuters reported that strained relations between some BRICS members and India's security concerns regarding deeper financial connectivity with China could make negotiations more difficult. Currency-swap arrangements may also be necessary to address trade imbalances before a CBDC-linked system can operate effectively.
These challenges mean that the proposal is more likely to develop gradually through bilateral and regional arrangements rather than immediately becoming a fully integrated BRICS-wide system.
India Seeks a Practical Digital Financial Architecture
The digital-payment initiative fits into India's wider priorities for its BRICS chairmanship. New Delhi has emphasized technology, trade, investment, digital public infrastructure and practical economic cooperation as areas where the expanded grouping can deliver tangible results.
India's experience with UPI gives it a strong platform from which to contribute to this discussion. Rather than building an entirely new payment architecture, the emphasis can be placed on connecting systems that already exist and developing common standards that allow them to communicate with one another.
The MGMM Outlook
India’s push to connect central bank digital currencies across BRICS reflects a practical effort to make cross-border payments faster, more efficient and less costly. Rather than proposing a common BRICS currency, the initiative focuses on linking existing national digital currencies and payment systems. India’s experience with UPI and the digital rupee gives it a strong foundation to contribute to this effort, while wider integration of UPI, local-currency settlements and CBDCs could strengthen trade, remittances and financial connectivity among BRICS economies.
At the same time, building a common digital-payment ecosystem across BRICS will require careful coordination because member countries have different financial regulations, currencies, technical systems and strategic interests. Issues such as cybersecurity, data protection, currency conversion and geopolitical differences will need to be addressed gradually. India’s approach therefore offers a practical pathway: strengthen interoperability between existing systems rather than attempting an immediate overhaul of the global financial order, while using its digital public infrastructure experience to promote greater economic cooperation within BRICS.
(Sources: NDTV, The New Indian Express, Economic Times)
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