BRICS members are discussing linking their fast payment systems and CBDC's

@GovSMalhotra Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra confirmed on Tuesday that BRICS nations are in active discussions to connect their fast payment networks and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), in a push to cut the cost and friction of cross-border transactions.

Speaking at the FIBAC banking conference in Mumbai, a joint annual event organised by FICCI and the Indian Banks' Association, Malhotra was clear that no firm decisions have been taken yet. "Various options are on the table, but it is still at discussion stage, including CBDCs and linkages of fast payment systems," he said.

Cost and Speed at the Heart of the Push

Malhotra framed the initiative around a straightforward problem: international payments remain slow and expensive compared with domestic alternatives. He pointed to India's UPI system, which settles transactions instantly, as a benchmark. "Cross-border payments is an area of interest for all of us, including the BRICS, because we do feel that there is a lot of scope for reducing costs, especially for retail transactions, and increasing speed," he said, according to Business Standard.

BRICS has a dedicated task force on payments, and the bloc's membership, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa among others, gives any agreed framework significant economic weight. The goal under discussion is greater interoperability between member payment networks, potentially allowing settlements in local digital currencies and reducing dependence on dollar-based correspondent banking channels.

India Driving the Agenda at the 2026 Summit

India holds the BRICS presidency this year and is hosting the 2026 annual summit, giving New Delhi direct influence over what reaches the formal agenda. Earlier in 2026, the RBI recommended to the Indian government that a CBDC-linking proposal be included in the summit's agenda, according to Reuters. The proposal is aimed at making trade and tourism payments between member states more efficient while supporting broader use of national currencies.

Analysts note that meaningful hurdles remain. Technical interoperability, regulatory alignment across very different jurisdictions, and governance questions all need to be resolved before any linked system could operate at scale. The RBI is also separately pursuing bilateral memoranda of understanding with central banks in the UAE, Mauritius, Maldives, and Indonesia to promote local-currency settlement, a parallel track that could support a broader BRICS framework over time.

For now, the discussions represent a significant signal that the bloc's largest economies are actively exploring alternatives to the existing cross-border payments architecture, even if the path from discussion to implementation remains long.

Sources:
Business Standard: BRICS exploring ways to cut costs, speed up cross-border payments
Reuters via Yahoo Finance: BRICS nations discuss linking payment systems and CBDCs, RBI chief says
Crypto Briefing: BRICS explores linking fast payment systems and CBDCs to cut cross-border costs