STABLECOINS | South Korea’s Largest Bank Successfully Completes Local Stablecoin Pilot

KB Financial Group, the parent company of KB Kookmin, the largest bank in South Korea, has announced the completion of a pilot project testing a Won-denominated stablecoin for offline payments and cross-border remittances as the country’s financial sector races to prepare for new digital asset legislation expected later in 2026.

The banking group said the proof-of-concept covered the full payment cycle, including

• stablecoin issuance,
• offline QR-code payments,
• merchant settlement and
• overseas transfers.

The pilot was conducted with

• payments company KG Inicis,
• blockchain platform Kaia, and
• digital asset firm, OpenAsset.

KB Financial tested the payment system at self-service kiosks operated by coffee chain, Hollys, where customers were able to make QR-code payments without installing a separate crypto wallet. Settlement was handled automatically through blockchain-based smart contracts, according to the company.

The group also tested cross-border remittances using the Kaia blockchain’s on-chain liquidity.

In the pilot, won stablecoins were converted into dollar-backed stablecoins before being transferred through a local partner into bank accounts in Vietnam. KB Financial said transfers via SWIFT Unlike the existing SWIFT method , which could take up to several days, that typically take hours or days through the SWIFT banking network were completed in under three minutes, while fees were reduced by roughly 87%.

Based on this verification, KB Financial Group [105560] plans to secure operational capabilities to immediately launch actual services in line with the enactment and institutionalization of laws related to digital assets.

A KB Financial Group official said,

“We will do our best to provide lifestyle-oriented digital financial services that customers can experience in their daily lives by combining blockchain technology with financial infrastructure based on proven stability and trust.”

The project comes as South Korean lawmakers and regulators debate the structure of upcoming digital asset rules including whether commercial banks should play a central role in issuing won-backed stablecoins.

South Korea’s financial industry has increasingly moved toward stablecoin pilots ahead of formal regulation. In early 2026, several firms, including card issuers and payment companies, launched or explored stablecoin payment trials targeting foreign users and remittance services.

KB Financial said it plans to strengthen its operational capabilities so it can launch commercial services once the country’s proposed Digital Asset Basic Act takes effect.

KB Kookmin, South Korea’s largest bank, had over $260 billion in total assets as of Q1 2025.

Stay tuned to BitKE on key crypto developments in Asia.

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