The 2026 BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held in India, is less than two months away. Such a timeframe may seem distant, especially considering the fast-moving pace of geopolitics. However, the central paradox is already visible and palpable. The bloc cannot agree on central issues, from Iran to Ukraine, but it is nonetheless building, albeit cautiously, a system to insulate itself financially. The format this takes and its success in September will be shaped in the coming weeks, building upon months of meetings.

Certainly, many nations and analytical outlets have already begun to speculate. ECFR’s Rafael Loss argues that it “is unlikely that the BRICS summit will produce a consensus statement that goes beyond condemning attacks on nations’ sovereignty in general terms as BRICS has opted to do in the past.” This argument on disunity is echoed by official voices on the issue of a financial hedge. In March of 2025, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar commented on the potential for replacing the dollar: “I don’t think there’s a unified BRICS position on this. I think BRICS members, and now that we have more members, have very diverse positions on this matter.” It is no secret that BRICS members are challenged by significantly varied national priorities. However, this has only increased under the context of Iran. Both China and Russia opposed external interference, but Brazil and South Africa have pushed for Iran to address the situation.

These nations fracture on principle, including sovereignty and alignment, but converge on finance, perhaps because it is defensive and interest-based, not ideological. The idea of a payment system linking national digital currencies through central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)—infrastructure rather than launching a new currency—has largely avoided headlines as it avoids being labelled as open de-dollarization. The aim would be not to create a BRICS currency or ask a state to give monetary sovereignty to a supranational authority, but allow trade to be decided between national digital currencies, rather than relying on the dollar-based SWIFT system.

The increasing drive towards such an initiative has been spurred on by Washington’s foreign policy and debt. The dollar is roughly 59 percent of global foreign exchange reserves; Asia Times reported this year that U.S. national debt is approaching $39 trillion, a dangerous position when the world’s economic stability is so closely linked to confidence in the dollar. The U.S. use of financial sanctions and tariffs has historically also extended to controlling access to SWIFT as a deterrent. For example, Russia was excluded from the system. Realistically, most of the CBDCs in BRICS countries are still in the testing stage. Any progression is likely to start by using existing bilateral systems and then expand into a multilateral framework, such as India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) which is already interoperable with the UAE’s Instant Payment Platform (IPP).

With this project in the works, India holds a very important position. The summit’s theme is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” with a logo stated to symbolize “inclusivity, dialogue and shared growth.” India has been central in pushing forward this project, reflecting the nation’s broader digital payment philosophy which builds on its UPI. Its role will now be to balance all sides: hosting Putin in his second visit to India within a year, while distancing itself from de-dollarization, and thawing its relationship with China after a CPC delegation under Sun Haiyan visited India in January of 2026. India is trying to turn a narrow, defensive financial consensus into broader cooperation. Whether it succeeds is the real question of the summit—and the West’s response is being set now, not in September.