08-12-2025 
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
India and Brazil will collaborate on their digital payment systems, according to a report by The India Times.
The collaboration emerged from a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held over the phone last week. The call was set amid growing antagonism from the United States toward its trade partners. Both India and Brazil are targeted by the highest of Trump’s tariffs.
No further specifics are available at the time of writing, but any collaboration could end up representing a gargantuan number of digital payment transactions. Both countries have launched their instant payment systems and enjoyed significant uptake. India’s system, dubbed Unified Payments Interface (UPI), has a reported 350 million users, while Pix, Brazil’s equivalent, has 140 million. The Atlantic Council, these figures represent 25% and 65% of each country’s population, respectively.
According to a statement provided to Reuters, the office of the Brazilian President said: “The leaders discussed the international economic scenario and the imposition of unilateral tariffs. Brazil and India are, to date, the two countries most affected.”
Prime Minister Modi’s office is quoted saying that “the two leaders exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest.”
Digital payments are becoming a meaningful component of geopolitics, as can be seen by the push towards stablecoin solutions worldwide. Governments are increasingly recognizing the significance of digital payment systems, leading to a renewed push by administrations around the world to take an official stance on the concept.In particular, there’s a recognition that the growing influence of stablecoins could jeopardize the status of the U.S. dollar globally and ultimately undermine the West-dominated global financial system. More broadly, the popularity of private stablecoins could undermine government control of their monetary systems.
These concerns have led countries such as the United States to bring stablecoins within their jurisdiction and use them as leverage to preserve the status quo rather than threaten it. On the other hand, it has led other countries to accelerate their stablecoin projects tied to local currencies.
European Institutions have also raised the alarm over the dangers of being ‘left behind’. Last month, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a report warning that without a strategic response, “European monetary sovereignty and financial stability could erode.”
This month, it was widely reported that China is softening its attitude toward stablecoins in response to the growing influence of USD-based stablecoins such as Tether.
After visiting Brazil last month, Prime Minister Modi is next set to visit China for the first time in over seven years.
Watch: How to buy things with Bitcoin
Recommended for you
