Visa has entered an exploratory partnership with Dunamu, the parent company of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, to examine stablecoin payment services, global remittances, and AI-powered financial tools. The agreement was announced after Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok met Visa Global President Oliver Jenkyn at Visa’s Global Market Support Center in San Francisco on August 26. The companies said they would assess ways to connect digital assets with Visa’s existing payment infrastructure, with any potential services developed in stages and in line with relevant legal and regulatory requirements.
As part of the work, the firms plan to study stablecoin payment services, cross-border transfers, and settlement models in major markets. The dollar-backed stablecoin Open USD, or OUSD, will be included in those evaluations as one possible business model. The announcement does not guarantee that OUSD will power any future product. The token has already drawn attention: in July, Upbit denied involvement in issuing OUSD after Dunamu was linked to the Open Standard initiative, with Dunamu saying it was reviewing possible participation in the wider ecosystem.
Beyond stablecoins, Visa and Dunamu will explore AI-driven commerce, including systems that can find products or services and complete payments on behalf of users. They will examine the infrastructure needed for such transactions and how AI could operate alongside stablecoin payment and settlement systems. The partnership also highlights South Korea’s expanding stablecoin and AI payments landscape: Dunamu is already working with Samsung SDS on digital assets and AI-driven payments, while Visa has partnered with Shinhan Financial Group. Circle has separately partnered with Kakao and Toss Bank, and Visa has worked with zerohash on stablecoin funding and payouts through Visa Direct.
The India angle adds broader relevance. With India receiving $150.7 billion in remittances in 2025, stablecoin-based cross-border payments could offer a major use case, but the Reserve Bank of India’s cautious stance remains a key barrier to adoption. For now, the Visa-Dunamu agreement remains an exploration of possible services rather than a commercial launch, with no specific products, markets, or stablecoins yet confirmed.
