Shinhan Financial and Visa partner on stablecoin and AI payments

Shinhan Financial Group has entered a strategic partnership with Visa to develop and test stablecoin-based payment infrastructure and AI-driven payment models. The collaboration aims to design a stablecoin business model specifically tailored to the South Korean financial and regulatory environment.

Using Visa’s enterprise stablecoin platform, the companies will verify core functions including the issuance, remittance, and redemption of stablecoins. The pilot program will explore applications for both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions, as well as the integration of stablecoins into traditional card payment settlements.

This initiative comes as South Korea advances its Digital Asset Basic Act to establish a clearer regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. By testing these technologies in a bank-grade environment, Shinhan seeks to address operational efficiencies in cross-border settlements and liquidity management before the widespread adoption of retail-facing digital asset products.