UPI can do more tricks among BRICS

Source: The Economic Times | Original Published At: 2026-09-09 17:24:32 UTC

Key Points

• India is promoting the integration of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for cross-border digital transactions among BRICS countries.
• The initiative aims to reduce the high costs associated with international money transfers and remittances.
• The push is linked to India hosting the BRICS Summit and broader BRICS efforts to expand engagement in local currencies.
• Preliminary discussions with Brazil and other member countries indicate potential adoption, though bilateral negotiations may offer greater promise.
• Key challenges include interoperability of national payment systems, identity mapping, settlement mechanisms, cross-border data flows, and exchange-rate fluctuations.
• BRICS currently lacks institutional capacity to enforce common security standards across member countries' payment systems.
• India views BRICS as a platform to test UPI interoperability and potentially scale it toward wider multilateral ambitions.