TechFlow News, April 7: According to The Korea Times, due to the ongoing delays in enacting the Digital Asset Basic Act, several South Korean financial institutions are launching stablecoin payment services targeting foreign users—bypassing existing regulatory restrictions and proactively building related infrastructure and partnership networks.
In terms of specific developments: Hana Financial Group, in collaboration with Circle and Crypto.com, launched a stablecoin payment pilot program for foreign visitors on March 5, enabling settlements in USDC and offering a 5% cashback; payment company Danal plans to roll out a similar service this month jointly with Circle and Binance Pay, allowing Binance users visiting South Korea to spend cryptocurrency directly while merchants receive settlements in KRW; Crypto.com partnered with local payment gateway KG Inicis to launch Crypto.com Pay on March 17; BC Card is currently testing USDC payment technology with Coinbase, while KB Kookmin Card has already filed a patent application for a hybrid payment system integrating stablecoins with traditional card payments.
Industry analysts note that services targeting foreign users effectively function as regulatory sandboxes, helping enterprises validate their technological and operational capabilities ahead of the launch of a KRW-pegged stablecoin. Early mastery of infrastructure and partner resources will thus become a critical competitive advantage.
