India Plans CBDC Link With Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam For Faster Cross-Border Payments: Report

India is working on plans to connect its central bank digital currency (CBDC) with digital currencies of select BRICS partner countries to enable quicker and more efficient cross-border payments.

As per a report by Moneycontrol, discussions with Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam are progressing, as India seeks to improve payment interoperability within the BRICS framework. Central banks of participating countries are exploring how CBDCs can be used to simplify international transactions.

“There have been discussions on using CBDCs for cross-border payments among BRICS partner countries,” one source was citing as saying in the report. “Discussions are at an advanced stage with Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam etc.”

Digital rupee to support global payments

The discussions follow the 18th BRICS summit hosted by India, where leaders backed efforts to improve payment-system connectivity and encourage trade and investment using local currencies.

India has previously advocated linking CBDCs among BRICS nations as part of efforts to make international payments faster, cheaper and more transparent.

A CBDC is a digital version of a country’s official currency issued by its central bank. Unlike private cryptocurrencies, it is regulated and backed by the issuing monetary authority.

India’s digital rupee, or e₹, is being developed by the Reserve Bank of India for retail and wholesale applications. The RBI is also evaluating additional use cases, including cross-border transactions with multiple countries.

“It is still in pilot phase because we need to find more use cases,” another source said.

India explores alternatives for trade settlements

Alongside CBDC integration, India is also expanding options for international trade settlements through local currencies, bilateral currency arrangements and increased use of the rupee.

“We want to have multiple options rather than a single currency — local currency, bilateral currency, rupee trade,” the source said.

While global trade remains dominated by a single major currency, India is working towards creating alternative settlement mechanisms.

“There will be dominance of a single currency for some time but we are working on it,” the source added.

The BRICS grouping includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as founding members, with additional members including Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE and Indonesia. Partner countries include Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and others.