Kbank Partners with Ripple to Test Blockchain-Based Overseas Remittances

South Korean internet-only bank Kbank has signed a strategic partnership with blockchain payments company Ripple to test blockchain-based overseas remittances. According to local media outlets like News1, The Korea Herald and Maeil Business, Kbank CEO Choi Woo-hyung and Fiona Murray, Ripple's Asia-Pacific managing director signed the agreement at Kbank's Seoul headquarters.

The bank said the partnership will use Ripple's global network and blockchain infrastructure to test whether overseas remittances can be made faster, cheaper and more transparent. The companies are already conducting a phased technical verification. The first phase reportedly tested a separate app-based remittance structure, while the second phase is digitally linking customer accounts and internal systems to test remittance stability. It includes onchain transfers to countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Thailand, according to local reports.

The tie-up comes as South Korean financial companies test blockchain-based cross-border payment infrastructure while the country's stablecoin and digital asset rules remain under discussion.

South Korea is weighing how to regulate stablecoins under broader digital asset legislation. On April 8, South Korea's ruling Democratic Party prepared a draft bill that would classify stablecoins as foreign exchange payment instruments and require tokenized real-world assets to be backed by assets held in trust. Citing an integrated draft of the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, the Seoul Economic Daily previously reported that stablecoins used in cross-border transactions would be treated as a "means of payment" under the country's Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.

The policy backdrop may explain why stablecoin and blockchain-payment tie-ups are accelerating before the rules are final. Banks, card companies and payment firms appear to be testing infrastructure, partners and use cases while avoiding full commercial launches ahead of legislation.

On March 16, Hana Financial Group, one of South Korea's largest financial conglomerates, signed a business agreement with the United Kingdom's Standard Chartered Group for cooperation on various sectors, including foreign exchange and digital assets. The South Korean conglomerate also previously partnered with USDC-issuer Circle and major US crypto exchange Crypto.com to promote stablecoin-based payments for foreign visitors in the country, according to The Korea Times.

On March 5, Asia Business Daily reported that South Korean payments company Danal will officially launch a digital asset payments service for foreign visitors in Korea in partnership with Binance Pay.