South Korean financial institutions are piloting stablecoin payments with foreign users, proactively building up their infrastructure.

Affected by the delay in the legislative process of the "Digital Assets Basic Law," several South Korean financial institutions are circumventing regulatory restrictions and establishing infrastructure and partnership networks in advance by offering stablecoin payment services to foreign users. Specifically, Hana Financial Group, in partnership with Circle and Crypto.com, has launched a USDC payment pilot program; Danal plans to launch a similar service with Circle and Binance Pay; Crypto.com and KG Inicis have launched a payment gateway; BC Card and Coinbase are testing USDC payment technology; and KB Kookmin Card has applied for a patent for a stablecoin and bank card integrated payment system. Analysts say that such services targeting foreign users act as a "regulatory sandbox," helping companies validate their business models before formal policies are implemented. (Korea Times)