Shinhan Card to launch yen stablecoin payment trial with SBI Group

[Financial News] Shinhan Card will jointly pursue a proof of concept (PoC) for yen stablecoins with subsidiaries of Japan’s SBI Group.
According to the card industry on the 21st, Shinhan Card signed an agreement with SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC at SBI Group headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on the 20th to expand the Web 3.0 global payment ecosystem.
Attendees included Park Chang-hoon, president of Shinhan Card, and Tomohiko Kondo, CEO of SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC.
The three companies will use the agreement as an opportunity to conduct a PoC aimed at expanding Web 3.0 payment services. The approach involves linking stablecoins to cards.
Key areas of cooperation include card payment services using yen stablecoins; wallet-to-wallet (W2W) payments based on yen stablecoins; settlement of cross-border trade payments; and consideration of participation in the XDC Network node ecosystem.
More specifically, the companies will test whether Japanese visitors paying with stablecoins can enjoy the same convenience as with existing cards. They will also assess security from a risk-management perspective, including anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud detection (FDS).
The trade payment settlement PoC will explore ways to settle transactions more quickly and efficiently than through existing international remittance networks, using stablecoins. One advantage of stablecoins is that they can transfer funds without going through existing international payment networks, potentially reducing fees and settlement times for overseas payments and remittances. However, actual commercialization will only be possible if requirements such as the regulatory frameworks of both countries are met.
The three companies plan to continue detailed discussions on each initiative based on the PoC results. They intend to develop stablecoin-based payment services for cross-border payments and settlement between South Korea and Japan, and to further improve payment convenience for visitors from both countries.
The initiative also aligns with the strategy to expand global digital asset infrastructure championed by Jin Ok-dong, chairman of Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. Last August, Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. signed an agreement with Visa Group to pursue future finance businesses, including digital assets and AI-based payments.
A Shinhan Card official said, “This is the first step toward creating a new payment paradigm that connects digital assets and traditional finance. We will strengthen the technological foundation for Web 3.0 payments and settlement, including stablecoins, and enhance our competitiveness in the global digital payments market.”

[email protected] Kim Tae-il Reporter