India Leads BRICS Shift to Interoperable CBDC Payment Network

Overview

• BRICS countries are moving away from a single shared currency in favor of a payment system that connects their central bank digital currencies.
• The proposed rails would let members use e-rupee, e-yuan and e-ruble for direct settlement without correspondent banks or the dollar-based SWIFT network.
• Design features include periodic netting of flows to reduce liquidity needs and central-bank forex swap lines to handle imbalances.
• India is steering the interoperability-first approach, drawing on its UPI experience, as the RBI stresses the e-rupee is sovereign money, not crypto or a step toward a currency union.
• Implementation is expected to be gradual with bilateral links expanding into a network, reflecting varying CBDC pilots and standards, and positioned as resilience rather than a bid to replace the dollar.