South Korean credit card firm Shinhan Card has partnered with Japanese financial group SBI to pilot yen-denominated stablecoin payments. The initiative focuses on simplifying transactions for tourists and accelerating cross-border trade settlements between the two nations.
The collaboration involves testing stablecoin-based card transactions and wallet-to-wallet transfers. Additionally, the companies will evaluate security measures, specifically focusing on anti-money-laundering protocols and fraud-detection systems to ensure safe cross-border operations.
This project follows a proof-of-concept trial completed by Shinhan Card in April 2026, which covered stablecoin payments and international settlements. SBI VC Trade, which registered as an electronic payment instruments exchange service provider in March 2025, will support the technical infrastructure.
The partnership addresses high demand for cross-border financial services, as travel between South Korea and Japan reached over 10 million arrivals in the first eight months of 2026. South Korean visitors to Japan accounted for 7.42 million of these trips, while Japanese visitors to South Korea totaled 2.7 million.
