Shinhan Card joins hands with Japan's SBI Group to test yen stablecoin payments

Oct 21, 2026, 10:50 am

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Shinhan Card held a business agreement ceremony with SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC to expand the global payment ecosystem at SBI Group headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on the 20th. (From left) Tadashi Yoshida, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SBI XDC Network APAC; Park Chang-hoon, President of Shinhan Card; and Tomohiko Kondo, CEO of SBI VC Trade, pose for a commemorative photograph after signing the agreement. / Shinhan Card

Shinhan Card announced on the 21st that it signed a business agreement on the 20th with SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC, subsidiaries of Japan's SBI Group, to expand the Web3 global payment ecosystem.

Beginning with this agreement, the three companies will jointly pursue a proof of concept (PoC) to expand Web3 payment services. Key areas of cooperation include a yen stablecoin card payment service, yen stablecoin-based wallet-to-wallet (W2W) payments, cross-border trade settlement, and reviewing participation in the XDC Network node ecosystem.

In the PoC for the yen stablecoin card payment service, tests will be conducted by linking stablecoins to cards. It will verify whether Japanese visitors paying with stablecoins can enjoy the same convenience as with conventional cards. In addition, the companies will inspect measures to secure the safety of stablecoin payments in terms of risk management, including anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud detection systems (FDS).

In the trade settlement PoC, the firms will explore faster and more efficient settlement methods compared to existing international remittance networks by utilizing stablecoins. Based on the PoC results, the three companies plan to continue detailed discussions on individual tasks going forward. Through this, the initiative aims to realize stablecoin-based payment services in the cross-border payment and settlement area between South Korea and Japan, while elevating payment convenience for visitors to both nations.

This also aligns with Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong's strategy to expand global digital asset infrastructure. In August, Shinhan Financial Group signed a business agreement with Visa to promote future finance businesses, including digital assets and AI-based payments. Through this collaboration with SBI Group, Shinhan Card plans to design a differentiated digital payment experience and contribute to building domestic and international future finance infrastructure for Shinhan Financial Group.

A Shinhan Card official said, "This partnership is the first step toward creating a new payment paradigm bridging digital assets and traditional finance," adding, "Through diverse collaborative initiatives, we will reinforce our technological foundation in Web3 payment and settlement fields such as stablecoins, while enhancing our competitiveness in the global digital payment market."

Lee Sun-young

#SBI Group #Shinhan Card #Japan