BRICS central banks are building cross‑border payment systems using central bank digital currencies now to reduce reliance on dollar-dominated infrastructure. The effort, driven by the Reserve Bank of India, focuses on mBridge-style platforms and de‑Swift alternatives ahead of the 2026 summit.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra warned that CBDC adoption by multiple countries is required to unlock cross-border benefits. T Rabi Sankar emphasized the urgency, saying “In the cross-border space, there is absolutely no improvement as such. It still takes four to five days for settlement and five to six per cent cost of transaction. To solve this problem, we believe CBDC is the answer.”
Technically, a blockchain bridge layer can enable payment‑versus‑payment foreign exchange settlement. This model mirrors the mBridge program of the BIS Innovation Hub and preserves national control of ledgers.
India’s programmable e-rupee embeds corridor limits and forbids offshore circulation as a direct liability of the Reserve Bank of India. Non-resident access is restricted by design to comply with current capital‑account rules.
Maxim Ryzhenkov supported a multi-level settlement system combining innovation and security, saying “We support efforts to create a multi-level settlement system that combines innovative payment instruments with reliable security mechanisms.” S. Jaishankar added that “The dollar as the reserve currency is the source of international economic stability.”
Progress remains uneven, with partial links to SPFS and other systems and ongoing technical integration. (Ed. note: implementation varies by corridor.)
