BRICS Payment Task Force to push UPI-Russia payments link, local-currency settlements

BRICS Payment Task Force to advance UPI-Russia payments link, local-currency settlements: Pawan Josh

New Delhi, October 2

"Everybody agreed to keep the BRICS Payment Task Force and continue studying interoperability between payment and messaging networks plus local-currency settlement," Josh told ANI.

He said the India-Russia initiative to link UPI with Russia's Faster Payments System is a key step. The first pilot will focus on consumer-to-business payments, allowing an Indian traveller to pay in Russia through UPI and a Russian traveller to pay in India through FPS.

A business-to-business layer for exporters is under development, while discussions on CBDCs, including the digital rupee and digital ruble, are continuing. Josh said the aim is to strengthen digital and local-currency transactions "without creating any ripples" in existing systems.

Rejecting suggestions that BRICS Pay would challenge SWIFT, he said, "We are not talking about de-dollarisation... SWIFT connects 11,000 institutions across 200 countries. That's the backbone; the world depends on that."

Josh said the proposed systems could benefit tourists, students and families sending remittances by reducing reliance on cash and complicated cross-border channels. He dismissed reports that BRICS Pay had been shelved due to Western concerns, saying there was "no financial escalation" and that every country seeks financial sovereignty.

"BRICS Pay is just a name. The BRICS Payment Task Force is working to find a solution," he said, adding that implementation is planned around 2030, aligned with participating nations.

Describing BRICS as an economic grouping rather than a political or military alliance, Josh said the priority is to make travel, education and remittances easier for citizens through practical, interoperable payment mechanisms.

— ANI