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<p><strong>KB Financial Group completed a proof of concept for a South Korean won-denominated stablecoin.&nbsp;</strong></p>
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   <li>KB Financial tested won stablecoin issuance, offline QR payments, merchant settlement and Vietnam remittances.</li>
   <li>The Vietnam transfer finished in under three minutes and cut fees by about 87%.</li>
   <li>South Korea’s stablecoin rules remain unsettled as banks and fintech firms continue payment pilots.</li>
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<p>The pilot tested payments, settlement and overseas remittances with KG Inicis, Kaia and OpenAsset.</p>
<p>The project tested the full service flow. It covered issuance, offline payments, merchant settlement and remittances. DigitalToday <a href="https://www.digitaltoday.co.kr/en/view/55979/kb-financial-completes-poc-for-won-stablecoin-payments-settlement-and-remittances" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reported</a> that the pilot kept the user-facing payment flow familiar while moving the internal settlement process to blockchain.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-offline-qr-payments-tested-at-hollys-strong"><strong>Offline QR payments tested at Hollys</strong></h2>
<p>The offline payment test took place at Hollys coffee kiosks. Users paid through QR codes without installing a separate crypto wallet. A smart contract then handled settlement automatically.</p>
<p>The setup matters because it places stablecoin payments inside a normal retail setting. It also shows how banks could use blockchain settlement while keeping the checkout process close to existing mobile payments.</p>
<p>Further, KB Financial also tested a cross-border remittance flow. The process converted a won stablecoin into a dollar stablecoin through Kaia’s on-chain liquidity, then sent funds to a bank account in Vietnam through a local partner.</p>
<p>The transfer finished in under three minutes. DigitalToday and Maeil Business Newspaper reported that the test reduced fees by about 87% compared with existing SWIFT-based transfers.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-stablecoin-rules-remain-the-main-barrier-strong"><strong>Stablecoin rules remain the main barrier</strong></h2>
<p>KB Financial said it plans to build operational capacity so it can launch stablecoin services when South Korea’s digital asset laws are ready. A KB Financial official said, “It is important to reduce dependence on overseas platforms and for the domestic financial sector to proactively secure operational capabilities.”</p>
<p>The regulatory path remains open. Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bank-korea-governor-nominee-positive-about-won-denominated-stablecoins-2026-04-14/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reported</a> in April that Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song supported won-denominated stablecoins as part of the future currency system.&nbsp;</p>
<p>However, Reuters also reported earlier that the central bank <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bank-korea-deputy-chief-says-desirable-introduce-stablecoins-gradually-2025-06-24/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">preferred</a> a gradual rollout led by tightly regulated commercial banks because stablecoins may affect monetary policy and settlement systems.</p>
<p>Recent crypto.news coverage <a href="https://crypto.news/new-bank-of-korea-governor-pushes-cbdc-plan-leaves-out-stablecoins/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">shows</a> the same policy split. Shin’s first speech as Bank of Korea governor focused on CBDCs and deposit tokens, while stablecoins remained a contested part of South Korea’s digital finance agenda.</p>
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South Korea stablecoin race heats up as KB tests offline payments

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