iBRICS Summit 2026 Concludes With DART Charter for Digital Assets and Payments

The inaugural iBRICS Summit 2026 concluded in New Delhi with the signing of the DART Charter, establishing a new multilateral framework for central bank digital currencies, multi-currency clearing, and cross-border payments across participating emerging economies. Organized by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, the two-year summit gathered more than 500 institutional investors, government representatives, and business leaders to restructure traditional cross-border transaction channels.

The newly formed framework creates the BRICS DART Working Group, which will operate as an industry secretariat to the broader BRICS payments task force. The initiative targets the integration of national faster-payment systems, specifically pairing infrastructures like India's Unified Payments Interface with Brazil's Pix to reduce reliance on conventional payment intermediaries and dollar-denominated settlement rails.

The framework outlines precise guidelines for conducting local-currency settlements and advancing real-world asset tokenisation, focusing on commodities such as gold and oil. By establishing non-dollar payment rails, the initiative aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of reducing the average cost of international money transfers to under three percent, while preserving participating central banks' monetary sovereignty.

Discussions during the two-day gathering centered heavily on digital asset integration and central bank digital currency interoperability. Delegates evaluated operational models designed to facilitate faster, more efficient transaction settlement in domestic currencies, bypassing traditional intermediary institutions that historically dominated international trade flows.

The summit convened prominent figures across financial technology, deep tech, and sovereign capital management. Lakshmi Narayanan, chairman of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute and lead co-chair of iBRICS 2026, emphasized the convergence of sovereign capital and digital assets during the proceedings.

Co-chair Dushyant Khanna noted that the gathering was structured to connect the massive sovereign capital pools held by BRICS economies directly with bankable regional projects. The event also featured specialized contributions from fintech executives, including fintech founder and CEO Tim Popplewell, alongside former American Hotel and Lodging Association president Chip Rogers.

The newly established working group follows ongoing deliberations between international payment stakeholders and the Reserve Bank of India regarding cross-border payment architectures. The DART Charter now serves as the operational blueprint for the BRICS payments task force as member nations prepare technical integration schedules for national payment rails and digital currency pilots.