Shinhan-SBI Pact Eyes Yen Stablecoin Payments for Japanese Tourists in South Korea

yen stablecoin payments — Japanese visitors to South Korea may soon be able to use yen-backed stablecoins for card-linked payments, as announced by South Korean card issuer Shinhan Card and Japanese financial group SBI Holdings.

The collaboration, disclosed Oct. 21, is at an early testing stage without a fixed commercial launch date. The initiative aims to enable cross-border transactions and trade settlement using digital yen tokens.

The firms plan to explore two primary use cases: card-linked payments for Japanese tourists at merchants in South Korea, and peer-to-peer wallet transfers. The move builds on Shinhan Card’s existing digital asset strategy, which includes a partnership with Visa.

The project, involving subsidiaries of both financial giants, seeks to streamline remittances and broader cross-border trade payments by leveraging stablecoin technology.