Korea’s stablecoin push gains speed as b2b use surges

In July 2026, South Korea’s card industry achieved a landmark proof-of-concept that validated the technical feasibility of integrating won-denominated stablecoins with existing card payment networks. This collaborative effort involved all nine major card companies—including Samsung, Shinhan, KB Kookmin, and BC Card—covering nearly the entire domestic market and demonstrating that won stablecoin settlements could be connected to current infrastructure without major overhauls. A Credit Finance Association official emphasized that this industry-led initiative complements the Bank of Korea’s CBDC pilots by focusing on private-sector readiness, positioning South Korea ahead of other advanced economies in stablecoin integration.

Despite regulatory delays, South Korean companies like Coupang and Woori Bank successfully conducted real-time proof-of-concept tests using won stablecoins on the Tempo blockchain, confirming technical viability for consumer payments. Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor showcased cross-border remittance pilots using Tether (USDT) on Avalanche, slashing transaction times from hours to minutes and highlighting stablecoins’ potential to streamline international corporate transfers between entities in the U.S. and Mexico.

In a pioneering move to facilitate foreign tourism spending, BC Card partnered with Coinbase and Wavebridge to complete South Korea’s first USDC stablecoin payment trial, enabling 18.94 million visitors in 2025 to pay at BC Card QR merchants with USDC converted into won. This three-month pilot addressed critical challenges such as real-time payment cancellations and refunds, ensuring blockchain payments could mimic traditional card transaction reversals. BC Card CEO Young-woo Kim affirmed that the existing card network infrastructure reliably supports global stablecoin payments without disrupting merchant processes, while Wavebridge CEO John Oh highlighted the seamless conversion from stablecoins to won-denominated settlements as a key breakthrough.

By mid-2026, South Korea’s major corporations and financial groups, including Hana Financial Group and Dunamu, began forging strategic alliances and making significant equity investments to build a robust won stablecoin ecosystem ahead of anticipated legalization. Hana Financial became Dunamu’s fourth-largest shareholder with a 6.55% stake, initiating joint development programs focused on won-pegged stablecoins, blockchain remittances, and tokenized securities. This institutional validation, occurring even before the Digital Asset Basic Act was finalized, underscores a concerted effort to integrate stablecoins into mainstream financial infrastructure.

Samsung Group has emerged as a pivotal player in South Korea’s stablecoin landscape, deepening its institutional collaboration through a combined 4% stake acquisition in Dunamu by Samsung SDS, Samsung Securities, and Samsung Card in May 2026. Building on this, Samsung SDS announced a $408 million initiative to develop end-to-end stablecoin infrastructure integrating blockchain, AI, cloud, and cybersecurity, aiming to embed stablecoin support into Samsung Wallet and enhance AI-powered payment systems. This strategic push reflects Samsung’s broader digital asset ambitions and signals a move toward institutional-grade stablecoin rails linked to the country’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit.

South Korean fintech giants Kakao Group and Toss have strategically partnered with global stablecoin issuers such as Circle and the Solana Foundation to co-develop payment and settlement infrastructure involving won stablecoins. These alliances, formalized through MOUs, aim to expand digital wallets, overseas payments, remittances, and real-time settlement capabilities, illustrating a collaborative approach that leverages international expertise to accelerate domestic stablecoin adoption. This trend is mirrored by securities firms integrating services with crypto exchanges following recent investments, highlighting a growing institutional embrace of stablecoin ecosystems.

Leading South Korean corporations like Hyundai Motor, Coupang, and POSCO International are moving beyond pilot projects to practical stablecoin applications tailored to their operational needs. Hyundai Motor demonstrated cross-border remittances using Tether on the Avalanche blockchain, slashing transaction times from hours to minutes, while Coupang and Woori Bank successfully completed a real-time proof of concept for stablecoin payments on the Tempo blockchain, aiming to reduce transaction fees and improve settlement efficiency. POSCO International is piloting on-chain trade finance to consolidate international transaction data into a single digital ledger, showcasing how stablecoins are being integrated to streamline payments, settlements, and trade finance across industries.

By early 2026, B2B payments have surged to dominate stablecoin transaction volumes on platforms like Paybis, accounting for nearly 97% of activity compared to just 36% in 2023. This dramatic shift reflects growing enterprise adoption, with 22.5% of businesses either using or planning to use stablecoins for cross-border transactions, driven by the demand for faster settlement and treasury operations without the need to become crypto companies themselves.

Major South Korean conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, POSCO International, and Coupang are actively piloting stablecoin applications to enhance payment efficiency and reduce transaction fees, especially in trade finance and merchant settlements. For instance, Coupang's collaboration with Woori Bank tested won-denominated stablecoin settlements for merchant payments, highlighting the potential for hybrid on-chain and off-chain models that integrate seamlessly with existing payment infrastructure while cutting costs significantly on high-volume sales.

Institutional adoption is further exemplified by Jeonbuk Bank's August 2026 launch of South Korea's first regional real-time cross-border payments platform using Ripple, targeting import-export companies and IT startups. This initiative, Ripple’s third major Korean partnership that year, underscores the accelerating integration of blockchain technology within regulated banking institutions, aiming to replace slow SWIFT transfers with near-instant, 24/7 settlement and positioning Jeonbuk Bank as a digital finance leader.

The expansion of stablecoin use cases into trade finance is also marked by innovative infrastructure projects like the Bdex and Chungoos partnership, which is developing a B2B payment system enabling exporters to receive USDT and USDC payments from overseas buyers and settle in Korean won. This system integrates billing, payment confirmation, and electronic tax documentation while planning ERP integration to automate accounting, promising reduced fees and faster settlements. Pilot tests with domestic firms are underway to validate cost savings and ensure regulatory compliance amid ongoing foreign exchange and taxation reforms.

South Korea’s card industry marked a pivotal milestone in stablecoin integration by completing a comprehensive proof-of-concept in July 2026 involving all nine major card companies, including Samsung, Shinhan, and KB Kookmin. This unified effort demonstrated that won-denominated stablecoins could seamlessly connect with existing card payment networks without major infrastructure overhauls, effectively addressing interoperability challenges and positioning South Korea ahead of peers like Japan and the EU in stablecoin readiness.

Building on this foundation, South Korean financial and tech giants such as Coupang, Woori Bank, Kakao Group, and Toss have advanced real-time payment platforms and blockchain integration despite regulatory delays. Strategic alliances with global stablecoin issuers like Circle and Ripple have fostered interoperable infrastructures that link blockchain-based stablecoins with traditional banking and payment systems, enabling near-instant cross-border remittances and real-time settlement capabilities that cater to both domestic and international users.

Practical applications of this infrastructure have been demonstrated through pilots such as the BC Card, Coinbase, and Wavebridge collaboration, which enabled foreign tourists to pay in USD Coin (USDC) at domestic merchants without altering existing terminals. This initiative not only solved critical challenges like real-time payment cancellations and refunds but also ensured compliance with South Korea’s regulatory framework, leveraging Wavebridge’s status as a registered virtual-asset service provider to facilitate seamless merchant settlements in Korean won.

Further infrastructure sophistication is evident in B2B payment innovations where Bdex and Chungoos are developing a stablecoin-to-won settlement system tailored for exporters, integrating billing, custody, and invoicing into a streamlined process. By incorporating won-denominated stablecoins like KRW1 and planning ERP integration for automated accounting, this initiative aims to drastically reduce cross-border transaction fees and settlement times compared to traditional wire transfers, signaling a significant leap toward fully bridging blockchain stablecoins with conventional financial operations.

South Korea’s stablecoin competitiveness is increasingly defined by the strength of its domestic ecosystem rather than sheer issuance volume. Experts like Min Byung-duk emphasize that use cases and network effects, particularly in trade finance, internal corporate settlements, and platform ecosystems, are critical to gaining traction. Professor Kang Hyung-gu’s 'TIDE' strategy encapsulates this focus, aiming to leverage Korea’s industrial strengths and world-class platforms such as Naver and Kakao to foster frequent won stablecoin usage and defend domestic settlement networks against the overwhelming dominance of dollar stablecoins, which currently command 99.4% of global market capitalization through entrenched digital payment networks like USDT and USDC.

The promise of won stablecoins extends beyond domestic convenience to tangible economic benefits, with simulations projecting annual savings of approximately 1.75 trillion won through reduced overseas remittance costs, improved working capital efficiency, and lower production expenses. Real-time settlement capabilities, as demonstrated by corporate giants like Samsung and mirrored in JP Morgan’s blockchain initiatives, could dramatically shorten cross-border payment times from days to minutes, providing a competitive edge over traditional financial networks and reinforcing the strategic value of integrating stablecoins into Korea’s digital economy.

South Korea’s regulatory landscape is tightening rapidly to keep pace with digital asset innovation, exemplified by legislative efforts to expand the Financial Intelligence Unit’s authority over unregistered crypto firms and the establishment of a Serious Crimes Investigation Agency dedicated to virtual asset crimes. This regulatory rigor is underscored by the timing of BitGo Korea’s VASP registration just before stricter entry requirements took effect, signaling the critical importance of institutional compliance readiness. Despite these pressures, institutional adoption advances, highlighted by Jeonbuk Bank’s partnership with Ripple for blockchain-based cross-border payments, demonstrating a pragmatic balance between enforcement and innovation.

Institutional momentum in South Korea’s digital asset ecosystem has accelerated since the lifting of a nine-year ban on corporate holdings in 2023, with major players like Hana Financial and Samsung making strategic investments in blockchain and won-pegged stablecoin projects ahead of formal legislation. However, regulatory clarity remains elusive, as debates continue over the acceptance of dollar stablecoins on corporate balance sheets amid concerns from the Bank of Korea about capital flight risks. Multiple coalitions are vying to develop won-pegged stablecoins, but broad adoption and regulatory endorsement—not just technical innovation—will ultimately determine market leadership, with interoperability across assets, currency pairs, and settlement rails posing a significant coordination challenge.

Samsung SDS and Dunamu's $408 million initiative marks a pivotal shift from exploratory blockchain ventures to the operational deployment of institutional-grade stablecoin infrastructure, integrating AI, cloud, and cybersecurity to create seamless, exchange-linked payment systems. This strategic partnership, centered around Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, aims to position won stablecoins as transformative digital payment tools that can accelerate the nation's digital finance infrastructure and mainstream adoption.

The future success of won stablecoins hinges less on sheer issuance volume and more on cultivating robust ecosystems with real users and distribution networks, as emphasized by Min Byung-duk. Leveraging Korea’s industrial strengths through the 'TIDE' strategy—focusing on trade finance, internal capital markets, domestic settlement networks, and AI-friendly payment systems—can uniquely position won stablecoins to dominate B2B and cross-border remittance sectors, capitalizing on Korea’s import-export-driven economy.

Won stablecoins offer a compelling competitive advantage by enabling real-time settlement that drastically cuts costs and delays in cross-border and internal corporate transactions. Economic simulations forecast annual savings of approximately KRW 1.75 trillion, combining reduced overseas remittance expenses and working capital opportunity costs, while integration with Korea’s world-class platform ecosystems like Naver and Kakao can further amplify adoption and utility.

As AI-driven agent-to-agent transactions proliferate, the demand for faster, automated digital payments underscores the critical need for AI-compatible settlement networks. Without such innovation, won stablecoins risk ceding significant added value to dollar stablecoins in global markets, making Korea’s push for AI-powered, interoperable payment infrastructure essential to securing a competitive edge in the evolving digital payments landscape.