South Korean company Shinhan Card announced on Wednesday the signing of an agreement with Japan's SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC. The document, signed on Tuesday, provides for the testing of stablecoin payments pegged to the yen for tourists and trade settlements between South Korea and Japan.
The parties will test three scenarios: card payments with stablecoins, transfers between wallets, and cross-border settlements. A separate block will assess control systems – anti-money laundering measures and fraud detection tools. These procedures determine whether stablecoins can be used in everyday transactions without creating new risks for the financial system.
Shinhan Card is one of the largest credit card issuers in South Korea. SBI is a Japanese financial giant managing banks, brokerage and insurance companies, as well as cryptocurrency exchanges. The initiative aims to support cross-border payments and settlements between the two countries and simplify payments for travelers: the tourist flow between Korea and Japan remains one of the most intense in Asia.
According to official data, in the first eight months of 2026, there were more than 10 million tourist arrivals between the countries. South Korea is the largest source of foreign tourists for Japan: 7.42 million arrivals. Japan ranks second in the number of tourists to South Korea: 2.7 million. This volume of trips makes the bilateral corridor a convenient platform for testing stablecoins: there is a high frequency of small payments, many currencies, and a significant share of retail spending.
This material is prepared solely for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation.
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