Key takeaways:
- Shinhan Financial Group has signed an MOU with Visa to use its new stablecoin platform
- Shinhan will test core functions including issuance, remittance and redemption
- The firms plan pilots covering card payment settlement, AI-based payment models and B2B and B2C transactions
South Korean conglomerate Shinhan Financial Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Visa to use the American firm’s new stablecoin platform and explore AI-based payment models.
Visa unveiled the platform in July, describing it as infrastructure that enables firms to mint, move and manage stablecoins. Shinhan will use the platform to verify core functions such as issuance, remittance and redemption, according to local outlet FNNews.
What the pilots will test
The firms are also planning pilots that will see stablecoins used for card payment settlement, the development of AI-based future payment models, and business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions. Shinhan is one of Korea’s so-called Big Five financial groups, with units including Shinhan Bank, Shinhan Card and Jeju Bank all set to be involved in the stablecoin project.
Shinhan’s chairman on the partnership
Jin Ok-dong, chairman of Shinhan Financial, said the partnership reflects a broader push to combine the group’s financial capabilities with Visa’s global infrastructure. “We will continue to combine Shinhan’s financial capabilities with Visa’s global infrastructure to design new financial models together and offer customers differentiated financial experiences,” Jin said.
The agreement adds South Korea to the list of markets where Visa is positioning its stablecoin infrastructure with major domestic financial institutions, as global payment networks compete to build the rails banks and card issuers will rely on as stablecoin-based settlement expands beyond crypto-native platforms.