Visa signed its first two South Korean clients for its enterprise stablecoin platform in the space of three days: Shinhan Financial Group on August 26, 2026, and Dunamu, the parent company of the Upbit exchange, on August 28. Visa opened the platform to financial institutions in July 2026. It lets an institution have a currency-backed token minted, transferred, and burned without running the underlying blockchain itself or holding the reserves in custody.
The deals came in quick succession, in a market that has no rules yet. South Korea has been debating the Digital Asset Basic Act, which would set the conditions for issuing a won-backed stablecoin, for more than a year, and the bill has not passed. Both agreements therefore cover technical testing and business model design, not a commercial launch.
Shinhan will test issuance, transfer, and redemption
Shinhan Financial Group is one of South Korea’s largest financial conglomerates. It reported net income of 1.82 trillion won, or about $1.3 billion, in the quarter before the announcement. The group said it will use Visa’s platform to verify a stablecoin’s basic functions, then design a model suited to the domestic market.
- Issuance of the token and the build-up of its reserve
- Transfer, including cross-border remittances
- Redemption, meaning the token is burned in exchange for conventional money
- Settlement of card transactions in stablecoin, under a separate pilot
- Expansion to business-to-business and business-to-consumer payments
Three subsidiaries are named as connection points to Visa’s network: Shinhan Bank, Shinhan Card, and Jeju Bank. This is not the group’s first experiment. In August 2026, its asset management arm signed an agreement with the Solana Foundation, Etherfuse, and Orca to test a tokenized fund denominated in won.
Dunamu adds agentic commerce to the mix
Dunamu operates Upbit, the country’s largest digital asset exchange. Its agreement with Visa, announced on August 28, covers three areas: stablecoin payments, cross-border remittances, and agentic commerce, in which a software agent completes a purchase on a user’s behalf. “The spread of AI, stablecoins and tokenization is a key trend that will change how finance and commerce operate,” said Oh Kyung-seok, Dunamu’s CEO.
The agreement mentions a review of possible use of Open USD (OUSD), a token unveiled in June 2026 by Open Standard and backed by more than 140 institutions, including Visa, Mastercard , and Google. “We are not prioritizing nor excluding specific stablecoins, but are aiming for an open structure that can connect various stablecoins, finance, and payment infrastructure,” a Dunamu spokesperson said.
| Detail | Shinhan Financial Group | Dunamu |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | August 26, 2026 | August 28, 2026 |
| Type of partner | Banking conglomerate | Operator of the Upbit exchange |
| Main focus | Issuance, transfer, redemption | Payments, remittances, agentic commerce |
| Card component | Settlement of card transactions in stablecoin | Not specified |
| Token in view | A Korean model still to be designed | Open USD under review, not exclusive |
Dunamu already has a bank partner. In May 2026, Hana Bank agreed to buy 6.55% of its capital for about $670 million. The two companies said at the time that they planned to jointly develop won-pegged stablecoins, blockchain remittances, and tokenized securities.
Who may issue a won token is still unsettled
The Digital Asset Basic Act brings together several bills filed in the National Assembly. It provides for issuer registration, minimum capital, redemption reserves, and a filing that describes the technical infrastructure, issuance limits, and redemption terms. The dispute lies elsewhere. The Bank of Korea argues that only entities at least 51% owned by a bank should be allowed to issue a won token, while the Financial Services Commission says such a rule would hold back innovation.
Visa positions itself before the law names issuers
For Visa, the value of these deals lies less in near-term volume than in positioning. If a won stablecoin comes to market, it will run on rails someone has to provide: issuance, conversion, and settlement of card transactions funded by the token. Visa is staking out all three before the law decides who may issue.
The Korean deals are part of a broader push. In August, Visa joined BLOOM, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s stablecoin settlement initiative, and it is looking for a provider for its own token settlement. Market by market, Visa is building a position as the intermediary between stablecoin issuers and existing payment networks.