In a significant advancement for global finance, South Korea's Hana Financial Group and blockchain technology firm Dunamu have successfully completed a proof-of-concept (PoC) for a blockchain-based foreign remittance system. This breakthrough, reported in March 2025, demonstrates the first successful replacement of traditional SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) messaging with blockchain technology between a major bank's domestic and international branches.
The PoC specifically tested transfers between Hana Bank's branches using Dunamu's proprietary "GIWA Chain" blockchain network. The implementation showcased key advantages over the legacy SWIFT system, which has dominated international banking since 1973: enabling real-time settlement (minutes versus 1-5 business days), reduced costs by eliminating multiple intermediary banks, enhanced transparency through real-time tracking, and improved security via cryptographic verification.
Looking beyond the PoC, Hana Financial has announced plans to build a comprehensive foreign remittance infrastructure using deposit tokens—digital claims on deposits at regulated institutions—by the third quarter of 2025. The development timeline targets a pilot program with select corporate clients in Q4 2025, with a full commercial rollout pending regulatory approval in 2026. Industry analysts project such systems could reduce cross-border settlement costs by 40-80% while improving transaction speed by 90%.
This development occurs within the massive global remittance market, which hit $905 billion in 2024, according to World Bank data. Traditional systems, with an average fee of 6.65% for sending $200, are slow and costly. The PoC successfully navigated South Korea's regulatory framework, incorporating Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know-Your-Customer (KYC), and data privacy requirements through smart contracts, a key achievement for broader adoption.
The news underscores the growing role of blockchain and specific instruments in revolutionizing remittances. Stablecoins like USDT and USDC solve the volatility issue for cross-border payments, while platforms like Ripple and Stellar are cited as examples of blockchain networks designed for efficient, low-cost cross-border settlements. Despite challenges like regulatory variance, the need for digital literacy, and fiat conversion hurdles, the long-term outlook for blockchain in remittances is strong, promising to reshape a sector crucial for millions of households worldwide.
