India’s BRICS Local-Currency Payment Link Proposal Seen as Key Summit Agenda Item

Source: Lokmat Times | Original Published At: 2026-08-18 08:41:46 UTC

Key Points

• An article published by South Africa’s IOL identifies India’s payment-network interconnection proposal as a leading agenda item for the forthcoming BRICS summit in Delhi.
• The proposal would connect domestic payment systems through a multi-CBDC bridge or linked fast-payment networks to enable direct settlements in local currencies.
• The initiative concerns interoperable payment infrastructure rather than the creation of a common BRICS currency.
• The article argues that dollar-denominated energy trade and currency volatility strengthen the case for alternative settlement infrastructure.
• According to the article, payments between BRICS members often pass through US banks, take days to clear and incur fees of 3–5 percent.
• The proposed system aims to enable near-instant settlements, using blockchain-like technology to coordinate payments on both sides of a transaction.