Shinhan Card, SBI to test yen stablecoin payments for Japan–Korea travelers

Shinhan Card has signed an agreement with two subsidiaries of Japan’s SBI Group to test yen-backed stablecoin payments for travelers and explore blockchain settlement for trade between South Korea and Japan. Summary Shinhan Card signed an agreement with SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC on October 20 to test yen stablecoin payments. The companies will examine card payments, wallet-to-wallet transfers, cross-border trade settlement and anti-fraud controls. More than 10.1 million visitor arrivals were recorded between Japan and South Korea during the first eight months of 2026. The partners will consider participation in the XDC Network node ecosystem, but no commercial launch date has been announced. SBI’s existing stablecoin business and Shinhan’s previous payment experiments provide experience for the planned trials. According to Shinhan Card’s October 21 announcement, the agreement was signed in Tokyo on October 20 with SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC, with testing planned across card payments, wallet transfers and international trade transactions. Shinhan Card and SBI plan yen stablecoin payment trials Under the memorandum of understanding, the three companies will exa...