Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Tuesday that members of the BRICS grouping are exploring options to connect their rapid payment infrastructures and central bank digital currencies - a discussion aimed at lowering the cost of moving money across borders.
Malhotra said that cross-border payments are an area of shared interest within BRICS because "we feel there is a lot of scope for reducing cost." He added that "various options are on the table, but it is still at discussion stage, including CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) and linkages of fast payment systems."
He reiterated that the central bank has recommended to the government that a proposal to connect CBDCs be placed on the agenda for the 2026 BRICS summit. India is set to host the 2026 edition of the annual meeting.
The governor also said the RBI will continue efforts to internationalize the Indian rupee and to encourage the use of local currencies for cross-border payments and trade. That work sits alongside the conversations on technical and policy options for linking payment rails and exploring CBDC interoperability.
AI governance and banks
On the topic of artificial intelligence, Malhotra framed AI as a capability to harness rather than solely a risk to be contained. "Indian banks cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and watch," he said, calling on lenders to catalogue all AI models in use and to put in place board-approved AI governance frameworks.
The governor noted that central banks worldwide are paying close attention to how lenders deploy AI amid concerns over cyberattacks and operational and governance risks. He underlined the need for banks to balance innovation with safety, adding that "innovation and safety are not opposing goals, they are in fact complementary requirements of a durable financial system."
The discussions described by Malhotra touch on payments infrastructure, currency internationalisation and technology governance in banking. All three strands - payment rails and CBDC linkages, promoting local-currency trade settlement, and stronger AI oversight - reflect a policy agenda aimed at reducing costs and risks associated with cross-border finance.