India's central bank is pushing to formally link BRICS CBDCs for cross-border payments, with the proposal now headed to the 2026 summit agenda.
India Pushes BRICS to Link Digital Currencies for Payments
India's Reserve Bank just made a move that sounds technical but carries significant geopolitical weight: it's formally pushing for BRICS nations to link their central bank digital currencies for direct cross-border settlements. And unlike many proposals that float around in policy circles, this one is being added to the 2026 BRICS summit agenda—meaning it's moving from idea to active negotiation.
The core concept is straightforward. Instead of converting payments through dollar-based rails or relying on correspondent banking systems like SWIFT, BRICS members would build interoperable digital currency infrastructure. A payment from India to Brazil, for example, could settle directly in their respective CBDCs without ever touching USD liquidity or Western intermediaries.
What's interesting here is the timing and the intent. India has been vocal about reducing dollar dependence, especially for trade with other BRICS nations. They've already been settling oil purchases from Russia in rupees and exploring rupee-yuan mechanisms with China. A linked CBDC network would formalize and scale that approach across the entire bloc.
Russia and China have been running their own cross-border CBDC pilots—Russia with its digital ruble bridge and China with mBridge, which connects multiple central banks in Asia. India's proposal could unify or at least coordinate these separate efforts under a BRICS framework.
The question isn't whether this is technically feasible—it is. The challenge is political alignment. BRICS isn't a tightly integrated bloc like the EU. Member states have competing interests, different regulatory standards, and varying levels of trust in each other's monetary systems. Getting them to agree on governance, settlement protocols, and risk-sharing mechanisms won't be simple.
Still, the fact that this is on a summit agenda signals real intent. It's no longer speculative. Policymakers are actively exploring how to route financial flows outside traditional dollar infrastructure, and digital currencies are the tool they're betting on.
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