BRICS Weighs Linking Digital Currencies for Cross-Border Payments

Source: Times Now | Original Published At: 2026-09-03 03:31:58 UTC

Key Points

• The article reports that an upcoming BRICS meeting is likely to discuss reducing reliance on the US dollar through cross-border payment cooperation.
• India is described as prioritizing easier international payments and lower transaction costs over launching a currency to challenge the dollar.
• The Reserve Bank of India has explored linking central bank digital currencies, including the e-rupee, e-CNY, digital ruble and Brazil’s Drex.
• Payment connectivity under consideration also includes India’s UPI and Brazil’s Pix.
• The proposed system would settle transactions directly in national currencies, with distributed-ledger and smart-contract-style technology potentially enabling near-instant payments.