India is preparing to host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, with cross-border payments, greater use of local currencies and digital
payment systems expected to be key areas of discussion. At the centre of India’s pitch is its experience with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a digital payment system that has transformed the way millions of transactions are made domestically and is now being explored as a model for expanding faster and more efficient payment connectivity beyond India’s borders. For New Delhi, the BRICS payment push is not simply about reducing dependence on the US dollar. India also sees an opportunity to take lessons from UPI’s rapid, low-cost payment architecture to help address some of the challenges associated with international transactions, while encouraging wider use of the rupee in global trade. A more connected payment ecosystem could potentially lower transaction costs, speed up settlements and give Indian digital-payment infrastructure a larger international footprint. BRICS members have been exploring ways to improve interoperability between their existing payment networks, including possible linkages between fast-payment systems and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). India’s UPI experience could be particularly relevant as the grouping considers how domestic payment platforms can be connected across borders without necessarily creating a single common payment system. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in August that cross-border payments were an area of interest for BRICS because there was “a lot of scope for reducing cost." He added that options such as CBDCs and connections between fast-payment systems were still being considered. Why Cross-Border Payments Are A BRICS Priority International money transfers can involve several intermediaries before funds reach the recipient. Differences in currencies, regulations and banking systems can add fees and increase the time required to complete a transaction. For Indian companies dealing with overseas suppliers or customers, this can mean additional currency conversion costs, intermediary charges and settlement delays. A more integrated payment framework could allow participating countries to move money more directly between their domestic systems. That could potentially bring down costs while speeding up transactions. India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) gives New Delhi a significant advantage in this discussion. The domestic system has demonstrated how large-scale digital payments can be processed rapidly, and India has already pursued partnerships to extend UPI-linked payment capabilities to other countries. The BRICS initiative could provide another avenue for taking that experience to a wider international network. Local Currencies, Not A New BRICS Currency The push for alternative payment mechanisms does not necessarily mean BRICS is preparing to introduce a common currency. India has maintained that it is not pursuing a policy to displace the US dollar from its global role. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in 2025, “I don’t think there’s any policy on our part to replace the dollar." Jaishankar also noted that BRICS members do not have a single position on de-dollarisation, reflecting differences in their economies and individual national interests. Instead, the focus is increasingly on allowing more trade to be settled in national currencies. This could reduce the need for countries to convert every transaction through the dollar. India-Russia Trade Offers A Glimpse Of The Model The evolving India-Russia payment arrangement provides an example of how local-currency settlement can work in practice. Russia said in September that its payment infrastructure with India now enables 96 per cent of bilateral trade to be conducted using the rupee and rouble. Sberbank India head Ivan Nosov said the arrangement has become highly efficient, with around 90 per cent of transactions completed within 10 minutes and more than half finished in less than a minute. Such mechanisms have become especially relevant amid Western sanctions on Russia and India's continued purchases of Russian crude. A wider BRICS payment framework could potentially make similar arrangements possible between a larger number of participating economies.
