BRICS Weighs UPI-Style Payment Links and CBDC Interoperability Ahead of September Summit
BRICS member states are exploring links between their domestic fast-payment systems and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) to cut cross-border transaction costs
The Reserve Bank of India Governor flagged the discussions at a banking conference in Mumbai in mid-August 2026
Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors are scheduled to meet in early September 2026 to firm up proposals ahead of the BRICS Summit on September 12-13, hosted by India
Two approaches are under discussion: linking instant-payment networks such as India's UPI with equivalent systems in other member states, and building interoperability between member states' CBDCs
Officials indicate the initiative is framed around cost and efficiency gains rather than as an explicit de-dollarisation push, and remains at an early, non-binding stage
BRICS: Composition, 2024 Expansion, and India's 2026 Presidency
BRICS began as an informal grouping of large emerging economies and has since institutionalised into a forum India is hosting this year, making its composition and expansion history directly testable.
The payment/CBDC proposals are being shaped specifically for India's 2026 presidency agenda, ahead of the September summit it is hosting.
India's Central Bank Digital Currency (e₹): Legal and Institutional Basis
Any discussion of linking CBDCs across BRICS requires understanding what a CBDC legally is in India and how the RBI's own digital rupee programme works.
BRICS-wide CBDC interoperability would require linking sovereign digital currencies like India's e₹ with those of other member states, each governed by its own domestic legal framework — a key implementation challenge officials have flagged.
UPI as a Template for Cross-Border Digital Public Infrastructure
India's Unified Payments Interface is the working model being referenced in the BRICS discussions, and its existing international linkages illustrate how such a system would extend.
Key Details
- NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) has linked UPI with Singapore's PayNow (2023), enabled UPI QR acceptance in the UAE (2023), and made France the first European country to accept UPI (2023, starting at tourist landmarks)
- UPI and RuPay were jointly launched with Sri Lanka and Mauritius on February 12, 2024, in partnership with each country's central bank/payment network
- UPI is frequently cited as a model of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) — low-cost, real-time, interoperable payments — that India has promoted for adoption by other developing economies
The BRICS proposal to link "UPI-style" fast-payment systems draws directly on this existing bilateral linkage model, scaled to a multilateral grouping.
Rupee Internationalisation vs. De-dollarisation: the Vostro Account Mechanism
The report's framing — payment efficiency rather than de-dollarisation — reflects India's existing, narrower policy of rupee settlement rather than displacing the dollar-based system.
Key Details
- In July 2022 (RBI circular dated July 11, 2022), the RBI permitted international trade invoicing and settlement in Indian Rupees through Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) opened by Indian banks for foreign partner banks
- This mechanism promotes rupee use in bilateral trade without requiring a shared BRICS currency or displacing dollar reserves
- BRICS has previously discussed, but not adopted, the idea of a common BRICS currency; the current cross-border payment/CBDC track is a narrower, technical alternative
By emphasising payment-link efficiency over de-dollarisation, the proposals track closer to India's existing rupee-settlement approach than to a symbolic anti-dollar currency project.
- BRICS Summit 2026: September 12-13, hosted by India
- FM-Central Bank Governors meeting: scheduled early September 2026, ahead of the summit
- BRICS 2024 expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE joined January 1, 2024
- e₹-W (wholesale) pilot launch: November 1, 2022; e₹-R (retail) pilot launch: December 1, 2022
- Legal basis for CBDC: RBI Act, 1934, Section 2 ("bank note" definition) as amended by Finance Act, 2022; legal tender status under Section 26
- UPI international links: Singapore (2023), UAE (2023), France (2023), Sri Lanka and Mauritius (February 12, 2024)
- Rupee trade settlement mechanism: RBI circular dated July 11, 2022, via Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs)