BRICS Discusses Linking Fast-Payment Systems and Digital Currencies to Cut Cross-Border Costs

MUMBAI — BRICS members are exploring connections between national fast-payment systems and central-bank digital currencies as governments search for faster and cheaper ways of moving money across borders.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra confirmed the discussions on Tuesday, saying cross-border payments were an area in which BRICS members believe significant cost reductions could potentially be achieved.

Possible options include linking existing national fast-payment networks and establishing greater interoperability between central-bank digital currencies, or CBDCs.

Malhotra stressed, however, that discussions remain at an early stage and that various alternatives are still being considered.

India is hosting the 2026 BRICS summit. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that the Reserve Bank of India had recommended including a proposal to connect CBDCs on the summit agenda.

## Not a single BRICS currency

The development should not be described as the launch of a new BRICS currency. No common BRICS digital currency has been announced.

Instead, governments are considering whether independently issued national currencies and payment platforms can communicate with each other more efficiently. That distinction matters because linking payment infrastructure is fundamentally different from replacing national currencies with a single supranational currency.

India's central bank is simultaneously working to increase international use of the rupee and encourage local currencies for trade and other international payments.

## AI governance also enters the conversation

Malhotra also used Tuesday's appearance to address artificial intelligence in banking. He said Indian banks should view AI as a capability that needs to be used, rather than simply a risk to be contained, while urging financial institutions to identify the AI models operating within their businesses and establish board-approved governance policies.

Central banks globally are paying close attention to the use of artificial intelligence by financial institutions because of cyber-security, operational and governance risks.

The BRICS payments discussion therefore sits within a much broader transformation of banking infrastructure, in which digital currencies, real-time payments and artificial intelligence are increasingly converging.

_Editorial status: HIGH — world finance and technology. Verification cut-off approximately 3:45 p.m. BST, Tuesday 11 August 2026._