BRICS member countries are in talks to connect their fast payment systems and explore interoperability between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra confirmed the discussions at an event in Mumbai, according to a Reuters report.
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The BRICS grouping includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, among others. India is set to host the 2026 edition of the annual BRICS summit next month.
Malhotra was quoted by the news agency as saying: “Cross-border payments is an area of interest for all of us, including the BRICS, because we feel there is a lot of scope for reducing cost.”
He said discussions are ongoing and no decision has been finalised.
“Various options are on the table, but it is still at discussion stage, including CBDCs and linkages of fast payment systems,” he said.
The update follows earlier reports that the RBI recommended to the government that a proposal to connect CBDCs be included in the agenda for the 2026 BRICS summit.
Malhotra said the central bank will continue efforts to internationalise the rupee. He also pointed to ongoing work to increase the use of local currencies in cross-border payments and trade.
Malhotra also addressed banks’ use of artificial intelligence, saying the RBI views AI as a capability and not only a risk. He urged banks to document all AI models currently in use and implement governance frameworks approved at board level.
Separately, CNBC TV18 reported, quoting Malhotra, that RBI will provide banks with a Digital Payment Intelligence Platform to tackle fraud in the digital payments ecosystem.
The platform will help financial institutions identify fraud, as AI and machine learning play a larger role in monitoring digital transactions.
