India proposes linking Brics countries’ CBDCs

The Reserve Bank of India has proposed that Brics countries link their central bank digital currencies, two sources have told Reuters. 

The central bank has reportedly recommended that a proposal to link the CBDCs be added to the agenda of the 2026 Brics summit, the news agency reported today (January 19). India will be hosting the summit as part of its chairmanship of the bloc. 

The reported proposal builds on a declaration made at the 2025 summit in Brazil, when Brics members pledged to strengthen interoperability between their payment systems. 

The Brics alliance has grown from its five founding members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE. The enlarged grouping is referred to as Brics+. Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan are Brics partner countries.  

However, the bloc is having to deal with geopolitical challenges. Amid deadly protests in Iran this month, US president Donald Trump said on January 11 that any country doing business with the Islamic republic would face 25% tariffs. South Africa asked Iran to withdraw from the Brics+ maritime exercise held in the African country’s territorial waters on January 9–16.

Trump has previously threatened import tariffs of 10% on Brics members if they “ever really form in a meaningful way”. 

Argentina withdrew its membership application following a change of political leadership in 2023. Saudi Arabia did not formally accept its invitation to join the bloc last year. 

The RBI and the central banks of Brazil, Russia and China did not respond to Central Banking’s requests for comment. The South African Reserve Bank declined to comment.