Shinhan Card has signed a memorandum of understanding with SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC to jointly test yen-denominated stablecoin payment services. The agreement was signed in Tokyo on October 20 and announced on October 21, launching proof-of-concept work covering card payments, wallet-to-wallet transfers, and cross-border trade settlement.
The initiative aims to expand a Web3 payment ecosystem built around stablecoins. Under the card payment proof of concept, the companies will link stablecoins to cards and assess whether Japanese visitors can use them with convenience comparable to existing card payments. They will also review anti-money laundering and fraud detection safeguards.
The partners plan to test whether yen stablecoins can support faster and more efficient trade settlement than conventional international remittance networks. The collaboration also includes consideration of participation in the XDC Network node ecosystem.
Based on the proof-of-concept results, the three companies will continue detailed discussions for each workstream. The next milestone is the execution and evaluation of these pilots, which will determine how the partners proceed with stablecoin-based cross-border payment and settlement services between South Korea and Japan. No commercial launch date has been announced, and the parties must still address regulation, commercial participation, refunds, and dispute resolution.
