BRICS Promotes Trade Using National Currencies
BRICS Local Currency Settlement is an initiative that promotes trade using national currencies, reducing dependence on the US dollar and supporting rupee internationalization. The concept gained importance during India's BRICS Chairship in 2026, with cross-border payments, digital payment connectivity, and national currencies emerging as key areas of discussion.
The mechanism involves importers and exporters settling transactions in their respective national currencies, eliminating the need for intermediary currency conversions. This is achieved through a banking and payment arrangement between participating countries.
India has been advocating the use of its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to make international transactions easier, while BRICS countries are exploring the potential of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for faster cross-border transactions.