Korea's payment giant completes stablecoin payment pilot! BC Card overseas users can now make card payments at 3.4 million merchants

Korea’s BC Card Completes Stablecoin Payment Pilot, Allowing Overseas Users to Make Card Payments in Korea, Signaling the Payment Industry’s Early Deployment Under Unclear Regulations, Accelerating Stablecoin Adoption into Mainstream Cross-Border Payment Channels.

Stablecoin Pilot Launches, Fully Connecting Cross-Border Payment Processes

Korean payment giant BC Card announced the completion of its first stablecoin payment pilot, allowing overseas users to directly use stablecoins for card payments at merchants within Korea. The pilot was jointly executed by BC Card, blockchain company Wavebridge, wallet service provider Aaron Group, and cross-border remittance platform Global Money Express.

Participants can exchange stablecoins held in overseas wallets for digital prepaid cards and use BC Card’s payment network to spend at approximately 3.4 million partner merchants nationwide. The official stated that this is not a short-term experiment but a core rehearsal before the formal implementation of the stablecoin payment system, aiming to establish a complete business and technical framework ahead of upcoming regulatory policies. BC Card currently handles about 20% of card transactions nationwide, and its parent company is KT Group, one of Korea’s three major telecom operators.

Unclear Stablecoin Policies Prompt Payment Industry to Take the Lead

This move comes amid delays in Korea’s stablecoin regulation process. The regulatory draft scheduled for submission by the end of 2025 has been postponed due to disagreements between the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Bank of Korea over regulatory authority.

• The central bank advocates that banks should hold at least 51% equity in stablecoin issuers to ensure financial stability;
• Regulators prefer to maintain an open market structure to promote financial innovation.

Facing regulatory vacuum, Korea’s credit card industry has formed a joint working group to explore the potential impact of stablecoins on traditional payments. BC Card has also established an internal dedicated team earlier to track global stablecoin application trends and has partnered with multiple overseas fintech companies for testing.

Industry insiders point out that these pilots indicate Korea’s payment institutions are actively deploying a “fiat - stablecoin” dual-track structure to ensure quick market integration once regulations are in place.

Global Payment Giants Join the Race, Accelerating Stablecoin Mainstream Adoption

The potential of stablecoins as cross-border payment tools is gaining worldwide attention. Besides BC Card, US Visa has opened some financial institutions to use $USDC for clearing services, and PayPal has launched PayPal USD ($PYUSD), pegged to the US dollar, allowing content creators to receive payments directly via YouTube.

Further Reading
A Key Step Forward: Visa Launches USDC Settlement Service in the US, Will Stablecoins Take Over Banks?
YouTubers Can Now Receive Payments in Stablecoins! YouTube Teams Up with PayPal to Enable PYUSD Payments, What Are the Biggest Benefits?

Korean financial industry insiders suggest that if regulations become clear, BC Card’s pilot model could extend to tourism, studying abroad, and overseas labor markets, allowing foreign users to spend stablecoins without going through costly currency exchange procedures.

As global fiat payment networks gradually align with blockchain infrastructure, stablecoins are shifting from “cryptocurrency assets” to a new phase as “international payment channels.” Korea’s experiment marks a crucial step toward practical applications in Asia.

This article is compiled by Crypto Agent from various sources, reviewed and edited by Crypto City. It is still in the training phase and may contain logical biases or informational errors. The content is for reference only and should not be considered investment advice.