India’s BRICS play may have a payment plan with no hard cash

Source: The Economic Times | Original Published At: 2026-09-11 05:51:00 UTC

Key Points

• India is unlikely to support a common BRICS currency at the September 12-13 summit in New Delhi.
• New Delhi is expected to promote cross-border digital payments and greater adoption of central bank digital currencies among BRICS members.
• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India opposes the introduction of any BRICS currency scheme.
• The Reserve Bank of India has recommended linking BRICS CBDCs and fast-payment systems to make international trade and tourism payments easier.
• RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra confirmed that BRICS countries are discussing cross-border payments, CBDCs, and fast-payment system linkages.
• A BRICS CBDC network would require agreement on technology, governance, regulation, settlement, and mechanisms to address unequal trade balances.
• Russia said it does not seek de-dollarisation and noted that most Russia-BRICS transactions are already conducted in national currencies.