> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theglobalvoice.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # India Pushes BRICS Towards a New Digital Payments Network - URL: https://www.theglobalvoice.com/india-pushes-brics-towards-a-new-digital-payments-network/ - Published: 2026-09-13T09:40:19.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-13T09:40:19.000Z - Description: India wants BRICS countries to link their central-bank digital currencies and payment systems, making cross-border trade faster and cheaper. It is not a common BRICS currency, but over time the network could make it easier for members to trade without relying on the dollar for every transaction. - Author: TGV Desk - Tags: Tech, Diplomacy, The Day So Far, India, that is Bharat, has-audio India is quietly pushing BRICS towards something that could eventually change how its members move money across borders, a network connecting their existing digital currencies and payment systems. The proposal, driven by the Reserve Bank of India, would explore linking central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, issued by BRICS members so that businesses could settle cross-border transactions more directly. India also wants greater interoperability between national fast-payment systems, potentially allowing platforms such as India's UPI and Brazil's Pix to communicate across borders. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said last month that both CBDC and fast-payment linkages were under discussion because cross-border payments remain expensive and inefficient. The distinction from the much-discussed “BRICS currency” is important. New Delhi has shown little enthusiasm for creating a euro-style common currency for the bloc, which would require countries with dramatically different economies, monetary policies and geopolitical interests to surrender a degree of monetary sovereignty. India's approach is far more practical: keep the rupee, yuan, real, rand and other national currencies, but build digital infrastructure that makes moving those currencies between BRICS economies easier. Imagine an Indian company buying machinery from China. International payments today can involve correspondent banks, currency conversions, messaging networks and settlement delays. An interoperable CBDC system could theoretically allow a digital rupee transaction to interact directly with China's digital yuan infrastructure, with settlement occurring through central-bank-backed digital money rather than travelling through several intermediaries. The same principle could eventually apply between India and the UAE, Brazil, South Africa or other participating economies. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/c5/9bc51e60-58a6-4a20-a6fd-f93758107131/content/images/2026/09/E-rupee-1-1.png) Illustration of e rupee India already has some of the infrastructure needed to experiment with the idea. Its digital rupee pilot began in 2022 and had onboarded one crore users by March 2026, with 19 banks participating in the retail pilot. The RBI is separately discussing cross-border CBDC arrangements with the UAE and Singapore and participating in international projects examining how digital currencies and payment systems can work across jurisdictions. The attraction for BRICS is obvious. The expanded grouping now includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Connecting payment infrastructure across such a large economic bloc could reduce transaction costs, accelerate settlement and encourage greater use of national currencies in trade. For countries facing Western financial sanctions, particularly Russia and Iran, alternative payment channels carry an additional strategic attraction. That is also where India's position becomes interesting. New Delhi appears determined to prevent the initiative from becoming an explicitly anti-dollar project. India has resisted proposals that could make BRICS look like a monetary alliance designed to overthrow the dollar or create a direct rival to the Western-dominated financial architecture. Instead, it is presenting the project as a question of efficiency: make payments cheaper, faster and easier while allowing countries to choose which currencies they use. Reports ahead of the summit indicated India was particularly cautious about a single bloc-wide settlement network that could be interpreted as a challenge to SWIFT. That caution was visible in the final New Delhi Declaration. BRICS leaders acknowledged work by the BRICS Payment Task Force on cross-border payment mechanisms and interoperability between payment and messaging channels. They also backed discussions on greater use of local currencies for trade and investment. But there was no announcement of a common BRICS currency or a fully integrated digital-currency network. The declaration explicitly recognised differing national priorities and said there was no “one-size-fits-all approach.” The obstacles are considerable. BRICS members are at very different stages of CBDC development. Their financial regulations, technology, capital controls, cybersecurity standards and monetary systems differ enormously. China already has an advanced digital-yuan programme, India is still piloting the e-rupee, while other members are moving at different speeds. Linking them would require countries to agree on technical standards, settlement rules, data governance and potentially sensitive questions about who can see transaction information. But India appears to be pursuing something more achievable than the grand idea of a BRICS currency. Instead of replacing the dollar, BRICS could gradually build the infrastructure that makes using it less necessary for certain transactions. That may sound like a small distinction. In the long run, it could be the more consequential one.