Shinhan Card, SBI-Affiliated Crypto Firms Plan Yen Stablecoin Tests for In-Store Payments

Shinhan Card, the credit card arm of South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group, signed a memorandum of understanding with two Japanese crypto firms affiliated with SBI Holdings to study whether yen-denominated stablecoins can be used for payments at physical stores, according to a Japanese-language release SBI VC Trade published on Oct. 21.

The SBI signatories are SBI VC Trade, the group’s licensed crypto exchange, and SBI XDC Network APAC, a joint venture SBI formed with TradeFinex Tech in December 2023 to promote the XDC Network blockchain across the Asia-Pacific region. The release described the deal as groundwork for a blockchain-based global payments ecosystem that ties digital assets to traditional financial and payment rails.

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The three firms said they will run proof-of-concept tests to gauge whether new payment services built on yen stablecoins and other digital assets could become viable businesses. Those trials are set to examine the user experience, how transactions are processed, and the technical and operational setup, with the work advancing in phases.

Shinhan Card and SBI XDC Network APAC also plan to collaborate on infrastructure for the XDC Network and explore which digital-asset payment services could run on it. All three intend to study stablecoin-based cross-border payments, including the settling of trade payments, and how such systems could connect with existing international remittance channels. The release said that work is meant to widen Japan-Korea cooperation in digital finance.

The release did not name a stablecoin, give a date for the tests or include comments from executives. It said details of specific projects will be disclosed over time.

The Oct. 21 release makes no mention of JPYSC, the yen stablecoin SBI rolled out in June. That token is issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank, with SBI VC Trade handling distribution, and Startale Group partnered on the launch. It is confined to SBI VC Trade accounts for now, with no transfers out to external wallets. SBI said in June that it intends to bring JPYSC onto public blockchains in Japan and overseas as soon as its legal and tax treatment is sorted out, provided regulators confirm the move.

The release says Shinhan Card has roughly 20 million cardholders and has expanded into Web3 and blockchain work in recent years. SBI VC Trade says it was the first platform in Japan to begin handling the USDC stablecoin.

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