India's central bank promotes BRICS CBDC interoperability, potentially accelerating "de-dollarization" of cross-border payments

On January 19, it was reported that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is promoting interconnection of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) within the BRICS framework to enhance cross-border trade and tourism payment efficiency, and to some extent reduce dependence on the US dollar system. Reuters reported that the RBI has advised the government to include this proposal in the official agenda of the 2026 BRICS summit, which India will host.

If New Delhi agrees, this will be the first time that CBDC interoperability is formally submitted for discussion at the BRICS level. This move is closely related to the current changes in the global payment landscape. As geopolitical uncertainties rise, payment infrastructure is becoming an important part of countries’ strategic competition, with digital currencies, tokenized settlements, and cross-border clearing efficiency at the core of policy discussions.

India’s central bank’s vision is not an isolated action but continues the consensus from the 2025 BRICS Rio Declaration on strengthening interoperability of member countries’ payment systems. The RBI has previously stated multiple times that it hopes to connect the digital rupee with CBDCs of other countries in the future to improve cross-border settlement speed and expand the international use scenarios of the rupee, while emphasizing that this initiative is not directly aimed at de-dollarization.

However, the plan still faces practical challenges. CBDCs among core members such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are still in pilot stages and have not been fully implemented. For example, the electronic rupee pilot launched in India at the end of 2022 has covered about 7 million retail users so far. Achieving transnational interconnection will also require consensus on technical standards, governance mechanisms, and ways to handle trade imbalances.

The report points out that trade imbalances among member countries could become a long-term obstacle. Previously, Russia and India faced restrictions in expanding their local currency settlements due to excessive rupee balance accumulation, ultimately resorting to investing in local currency bonds to absorb the excess. One of the solutions currently under discussion is to introduce bilateral foreign exchange swap arrangements at the central bank level.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India remains cautious about private stablecoins, warning that unregulated expansion could weaken financial stability and public trust in the monetary system. In comparison, regulated CBDCs are seen as a more controllable alternative and are also an important direction for BRICS countries to explore new cross-border payment systems.