Shinhan Card, SBI to test yen stablecoin payments for Japan–Korea travelers

Shinhan Card has signed an agreement with two subsidiaries of Japan’s SBI Group to test yen-backed stablecoin payments for travelers and explore blockchain settlement for trade between South Korea and Japan.

According to Shinhan Card’s October 21 announcement, the agreement was signed in Tokyo on October 20 with SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC, with testing planned across card payments, wallet transfers and international trade transactions.

Shinhan Card and SBI plan yen stablecoin payment trials

Under the memorandum of understanding, the three companies will examine whether visitors can spend yen-denominated stablecoins through payment cards while retaining the familiar checkout experience of conventional cards. The work remains at the proof-of-concept stage, and no commercial rollout date was announced.

The companies plan to test wallet-to-wallet transfers alongside card-linked transactions. Their assessment will cover anti-money-laundering procedures and fraud detection, two controls Shinhan identified as necessary for handling stablecoin-based payments safely.

Shinhan Card serves approximately 20 million card members, according to SBI, making the arrangement a test involving an established payments provider rather than a newly formed crypto wallet. The agreement, however, does not say those cardholders will be included in the trials or describe how participants would be recruited.

The October 20 signing ceremony brought together Shinhan Card President Park Chang-hoon, SBI VC Trade President Tomohiko Kondo and SBI XDC Network APAC Chief Operating Officer Tadashi Yoshida. Kondo heads both Japanese companies, while Yoshida oversees operations at the blockchain infrastructure venture.

SBI’s separate October 21 announcement describes the agreement as a phased collaboration connecting digital assets to existing financial and payment infrastructure. It says the partners will examine transaction processes, user experience and operating arrangements before deciding whether the proposed services are commercially viable.

The announcement does not identify a specific yen stablecoin for the card pilot. It leaves the underlying token, participating merchants, trial dates and prospective transaction limits unspecified.

Cross-border settlement tests extend beyond tourist spending

Businesses involved in Japan–South Korea trade are another focus. The companies intend to investigate whether stablecoins can support settlement of commercial payments and connect with existing international remittance arrangements.

Shinhan said the partners would evaluate faster and more efficient settlement methods, although the announcement contains no measured processing times, fee comparisons or completed transactions from the proposed trial.

A further workstream involves potential participation in the XDC Network node ecosystem. SBI XDC Network APAC, established in December 2023 as a venture between SBI Holdings and TradeFinex Tech, develops blockchain infrastructure aimed at trade finance and enterprise transactions.

The Japanese partners have not committed to running a new node as part of the agreement. SBI described XDC infrastructure development and use of digital assets for business payments as areas for joint examination.

SBI VC Trade brings existing digital-asset trading and payments experience. The company secured Japanese authorization to handle electronic payment instruments in March 2025 and subsequently introduced trading in Circle’s dollar-backed USDC stablecoin.

As crypto.news previously reported, SBI began offering the dollar-backed token following regulatory approval. The first stablecoin service was initially announced in March 2025.

Tourism data shows scale of Japan–Korea payment corridor

Official travel data provides a measure of the potential customer base. Japan National Tourism Organization figures show 7,420,300 arrivals from South Korea during the first eight months of 2026, up 21.2% from the same period in 2025.

South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism separately recorded 2,698,857 visitors from Japan through August, a 17.5% annual gain. Together, the two countries recorded more than 10.1 million cross-border visitor arrivals during the period.

The Korean ministry said spending on cards by all international visitors reached 14.018 trillion won in the first eight months, 48.5% more than a year before. Its figure covers travelers from every country, not only Japan, and does not measure prospective stablecoin demand.

For the planned pilot, Shinhan’s specific question is whether Japanese visitors can use stablecoin-linked cards with the same convenience as existing card products. Neither partner has disclosed how currency conversion or merchant settlement would operate in a production service.

Shinhan and SBI build on previous digital payment work

Shinhan Card said it completed an earlier proof of concept for stablecoin payments and overseas settlement in April. Its parent Shinhan Financial Group subsequently agreed in August to explore digital assets and artificial-intelligence payment services with Visa.

SBI has pursued related work through separate partnerships. On October 16, SBI Holdings and Startale Group announced they were considering tests linking the planned yen-denominated JPYSC stablecoin with Open USD, another project involving interoperability between digital currencies.

The October 16 proposal concerns interoperability between two specified tokens, whereas the newly announced Shinhan work covers payment cards, individual wallet transfers and trade settlement without naming an issuer.

SBI has not said that JPYSC will be used in the Shinhan card experiment, and its October 21 statement says further details of the proposed initiatives will be released progressively.