BRICS: Building New Payment Networks

Source: In.gr | Original Published At: 2026-09-12 10:49:55 UTC

Key Points

• Instant payment systems in BRICS member states have processed more than $10 trillion in transactions over the past 18 months, surpassing major card networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
• India’s UPI and Brazil’s Pix, government-backed account-to-account payment systems, are exploring connections with foreign central banks to increase cross-border usage.
• The European Central Bank is preparing a pilot linking the EU’s TIPS instant payments platform with India’s UPI, while preliminary studies are underway on a possible connection with Brazil’s Pix.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India should connect UPI with countries where large Indian communities live or with which India conducts substantial trade.
• Discussions within BRICS on linking payment systems remain at an early stage and depend on cooperation among national currencies, private-sector participation, and export contracts.
• The article notes that a common BRICS reserve currency has not been achieved, partly because member currencies are difficult to convert directly without relying on the U.S. dollar market.
• The United States has accused BRICS of promoting de-dollarization, while India and other members deny seeking to weaken the U.S. dollar.