India’s proposal for a UPI-style payment system for BRICS countries has received approval at the 18th BRICS Summit, marking a significant push towards deeper digital payment cooperation among member nations.
The summit approved the formation of a BRICS Payment Task Force (BPTF) to study practical solutions for cross-border payments and explore greater interoperability between national payment and messaging systems.
The proposed framework could link systems such as India’s UPI, Russia’s SPFS, Brazil’s Pix and China’s CIPS, allowing consumers and businesses to make cross-border payments more efficiently.
A key objective is to encourage trade and investment in local currencies, reducing dependence on the US dollar for transactions between BRICS countries. The summit also backed efforts to promote local-currency settlements as a way to make cross-border transactions faster, more cost-effective and secure.
The move builds on cross-border payment initiatives discussed in the 2024 Kazan and 2025 Rio declarations. The BPTF will continue discussions and examine ways to improve interoperability between existing systems.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also highlighted initiatives under BRICS Connect, aimed at strengthening skills, employability, women’s participation in the workforce, social security and capacity development.
Another initiative, the BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal, has been launched to help small and medium-sized businesses connect with new financial and market opportunities.
Modi also called for BRICS innovations to be made available beyond member countries and extended to nations across the Global South, as the grouping seeks to deepen economic and digital cooperation.
