Summary
South Korea has launched a 9.6 billion won project to expand its CBDC-based deposit token payment system into everyday commercial payments, building on the Bank of Korea's earlier "Project Hangang" pilot. On July 22, the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and the Ministry of Science and ICT announced a nationwide project to build payment infrastructure based on deposit tokens, extending the Bank of Korea's wholesale CBDC trial into retail payment services used by businesses and consumers.
The 9.6 billion won ($6.9 million) project will be led by the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (KFTC). Nine commercial banks, eight payment gateway providers and two large merchants have joined the consortium, which will develop and test payment services using deposit tokens issued on top of the Bank of Korea's wholesale CBDC infrastructure. The initiative was selected under the government's 2026 Blockchain Innovation Leading Project program.
The design deliberately avoids replacing payment terminals. Consumers will pay using deposit token wallet applications issued by participating banks, and officials are reviewing physical payment cards linked to deposit token wallets. Merchants continue using existing point-of-sale terminals without replacing hardware. Authorities also plan to test deposit tokens for government business expense programs before eventually connecting with dBrain, South Korea's digital public finance platform.
Key Facts
- 9.6 billion won ($6.9M) project announced July 22 by KISA and Ministry of Science and ICT.
- Selected under government's 2026 Blockchain Innovation Leading Project program.
- Led by KFTC; consortium of 9 commercial banks, 8 payment gateway providers, 2 large merchants.
- Extends Bank of Korea's "Project Hangang" wholesale CBDC pilot into retail/commercial payments.
- Consumers use deposit token wallet apps; physical payment cards under review; merchants keep existing POS terminals.
- Government also plans deposit tokens for government expense programs, then connect with dBrain digital public finance platform.
- ~3 billion won of budget allocated to SME/startup/IT development; participating banks expected to invest ~4.5 billion won.
- Distinct from stablecoins: deposit tokens are tokenized commercial bank deposits on a wholesale CBDC framework.
- Aligns with Korea's roadmap to make the won freely convertible and introduce won-backed stablecoins under the Digital Asset Basic Act.
Why It Matters
South Korea is moving one of the most advanced wholesale-CBDC pilots into nationwide commercial use, and doing it through deposit tokens rather than privately issued stablecoins — a deliberate choice that keeps commercial banks and the central bank at the center of the payment system. The approach preserves existing merchant hardware while adding programmable, on-chain settlement, lowering the barrier to adoption.
The project also positions Korea as a reference design for how CBDC-backed deposit tokens can coexist with — rather than be displaced by — the global stablecoin wave. By connecting to dBrain for public spending and applying programmable features (pre-defined spending conditions, transparency), Korea is testing whether state-backed tokenized money can capture the programmability benefits of crypto without ceding the rail to private issuers. For the wider Asia fintech picture, it is a concrete signal that the deposit-token model is moving from pilot to nationwide rollout.