India touts BRICS-wide CBDC bridge as shield from US tariff risks

India’s RBI wants BRICS to link CBDCs like the e-rupee and digital yuan by 2026, creating a shared rail for trade and tourism that bypasses dollar-based systems.

Summary

• The RBI has asked New Delhi to put CBDC interconnection on the 2026 BRICS summit agenda, aiming to link the e-rupee, digital yuan, and other BRICS CBDCs.​
• A shared CBDC rail would let members settle trade and tourism directly in local digital currencies, reducing dollar reliance and correspondent bank friction.​
• The plan faces interoperability and governance hurdles as BRICS expands, but RBI frames it as a resilience play amid tariffs and “anti-American” rhetoric.

The Reserve Bank of India has proposed a plan to interconnect the central bank digital currencies of all BRICS nations to streamline cross-border trade and tourism through direct digital settlement.

The statement, reported in Reuters, states that India’s central bank hopes to link other BRICS nations via a common digital currency.

India proposes uniting BRICS via digital currency

The RBI has recommended that the Indian government place the initiative on the formal agenda for the 2026 BRICS summit, which India is scheduled to host later this year, the report stated. The proposal would mark the first coordinated effort to link sovereign digital currencies, including India’s e-rupee and China’s digital yuan, within a shared, multilateral framework, if adopted.

The proposal aims to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar in international settlements, according to the RBI. By enabling direct payments in local CBDCs, BRICS members could settle trade and tourism flows without routing transactions through dollar-based correspondent banking systems. The central bank stated that such a system would improve efficiency by eliminating intermediaries, lowering settlement delays, and reducing transaction costs.

The proposal follows recent geopolitical tensions and trade disputes. RBI officials referenced recent tariff threats and criticism of BRICS from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has described the bloc as “anti-American,” according to the report. The central bank has positioned a shared CBDC infrastructure as a tool for economic resilience, allowing member states to insulate trade flows from external political pressure.

Implementation would require consensus on technical interoperability standards and governance rules across the member countries. The challenge has grown more complex as BRICS has expanded to include newer members such as the UAE, Iran, and Indonesia, the report noted.

One mechanism under discussion involves bilateral foreign-exchange swap lines between participating central banks to address potential trade imbalances, according to the RBI. The central bank continues to emphasize the e-rupee’s role as a regulated alternative to private stablecoins, which it views as posing risks to monetary sovereignty and financial stability.

As of January 2026, India’s e-rupee has reached approximately 7 million retail users, while China is actively promoting international use of its digital yuan, according to the report. Brazil, Russia, and South Africa are all operating advanced CBDC pilot programs.

The RBI’s proposal could become a foundational step toward a BRICS-wide digital settlement layer if endorsed at the 2026 summit, potentially reshaping how emerging economies conduct cross-border trade, the report stated.