Overview
- BRICS officials are discussing connecting national instant‑payment networks and central bank digital currencies, Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra confirmed on Tuesday.
- Those talks are at an early stage with no agreed technical design, governance model or launch timetable, and members have not committed to a path forward.
- Officials say major hurdles include setting common technical standards, meeting compliance and cybersecurity rules, and creating conversion and liquidity tools to handle persistent trade imbalances.
- Member nations start from different positions — China’s e‑CNY is most advanced, Brazil’s Pix and India’s UPI have huge domestic use, Russia plans a wider digital‑ruble rollout, and South Africa prefers study and modernization — so any solution must be adaptable.
- The RBI is also pressing to internationalize the rupee and has urged banks to inventory AI models and adopt board‑approved AI governance, a push that signals how payments and digital tools will face tighter rules if these links move forward.