SBI DigiTrust has started testing stablecoin-based remittances and QR payments between Japan and South Korea together with Korean payment processor NICE Information & Telecommunication and blockchain firm DSRV — a joint study targeting completion by the end of December 2026, with NICE bringing a merchant network of roughly 1.2 million stores into the experiment.
By David Chen | October 2, 2026
The Hook: A Tourist Pays in Seoul Without Changing Money
The scenario under test is refreshingly concrete: a Japanese traveler walks into a store in South Korea, scans a QR code at a NICE-affiliated merchant, and pays with a stablecoin — no currency exchange counter, no card fees stacked on foreign transaction rates. SBI Group announced the project on October 1, saying the three companies signed their memorandum at NICE’s Seoul headquarters on September 30 and expect the verification work to run through December before deciding whether a commercial service makes sense.
For everyday users, this is the shape of things to come in cross-border payments. Today, sending money between Japan and Korea means banks, correspondent intermediaries and settlement windows. A stablecoin rail could compress that into a transfer that moves in minutes — like sending a message instead of mailing a letter.
On-Chain Evidence: What the Test Actually Covers
This is not a lab demo between two test wallets. According to the announcement, the study examines a practical checkout flow end to end:
- Fund flows — how money moves from the Japanese customer to the Korean merchant.
- Payment instructions — what messages and data the systems must exchange to complete a purchase.
- System connections — how the companies’ infrastructure links up with payment rails already used by Korean stores.
- Commercial viability — transaction size, cost, and whether the economics justify a real service.
The division of labor is clear. NICE contributes its existing payment infrastructure and merchant operations across roughly 1.2 million merchants nationwide — though neither company has said all of those locations will participate. DSRV, the Korean blockchain company, handles the technical side: system design, stablecoin requirements and connections between blockchain infrastructure and the partners’ existing systems. SBI DigiTrust, a blockchain infrastructure provider under SBI Group, covers the Japanese regulatory, financial and digital-asset side, including how the payment structure could cooperate with other SBI businesses.
The Core Conflict: Two Countries, Two Rulebooks
The hardest part of a Japan-Korea stablecoin payment link may not be technology but regulation — because the two countries are at very different stages. Japan already regulates fiat-linked stablecoins as electronic payment instruments under its Payment Services Act, and on June 1 it introduced a registration system for businesses that intermediate certain stablecoin and crypto services on behalf of registered providers. South Korea, by contrast, is still drafting its rules for won-linked stablecoins. SBI’s announcement specifically notes the Korean framework remains under development, and the partners will keep reviewing policy changes while the test runs.
There are open questions the companies have deliberately not answered: which stablecoin will be used, on which blockchain, with what wallet provider, exchange-rate system or settlement currency. No commercial launch date has been announced — December is a testing deadline, not a release date.
Market Implications: SBI Is Building a Whole Corridor
The NICE and DSRV project is not SBI’s first stab at a Japan-Korea stablecoin route. In August, SBI began work on a separate Japan-Korea stablecoin network built on Canton with Korean blockchain infrastructure company Nodeinfra, examining payment tokens and eventual regulated settlement between financial institutions. Another experiment reached the testing stage in September. Together the projects suggest SBI sees the Japan-Korea travel and payments corridor as a beachhead for regulated stablecoin settlement in Asia — a region where tourism flows between the two countries create steady, predictable demand for cheap cross-border payments.
For DeFi watchers, the significance is directional: the world’s payment giants are not waiting for consumer crypto apps to win users. They are bolting stablecoins onto merchant networks people already use, one QR code at a time.
The Verdict
A December finish line, a 1.2 million-merchant network and two of Asia’s most advanced financial groups at the table make this test worth following — even with the stablecoin, blockchain and launch date all still unannounced. If the commercial case holds, the winner will not be a new token but the traveler who pays in Seoul as easily as in Osaka. That is the quiet way stablecoins go mainstream: not through speculation, but through a receipt.
The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
1.2 million NICE merchants in the test pool is the number that matters. QR scan, stablecoin settles, no exchange counter in myeongdong
the fx spread on tokyo to seoul card spending is like 3-5% once fees stack. if this clears even half of that its a genuine use case
3 to 5 percent is honestly conservative once you add the atm withdrawal fee on top. clearing even half of that is real money on a week in seoul
signed at NICE HQ sept 30, verification through december. sbi keeps quietly building these corridors while everyone stares at price charts
1.2 million stores through the NICE network is the number that matters. tech demo is whatever, merchant acceptance is the hard part and they already have it
scan a QR in Seoul, settle in stablecoins, done by December. SBI has been ahead on this stuff for years, remember they were early on Ripple rails too
agreed, though a study targeting completion and an actual live corridor are different things. seen plenty of these joint tests quietly die after the pilot phase
most pilots die because the merchant side was vapor. 1.2 million stores already on NICE terminals is the part that makes this one different, the rails just have to not break
the merchant base being live already is what separates this from the typical three company MOU photo op. the rails exist, they just have to not fumble settlement
fair on pilots dying quietly, but sbi already runs live settlement rails for real banks. this is a different risk profile than some startup chasing a headline
Fair point on pilots dying quietly, but SBI has actually shipped corridors before. Their track record is why this reads different from the usual December vaporware
dsrv on infra, nice with 1.2 million merchants, sbi underwriting it. no vaporware pieces in that stack, december actually looks doable for once
december doable if they keep the test pool small. the second they push the full NICE merchant base in, verification timelines go out the window
a week in seoul at 3-5% card spread plus atm fees easily eats 50-100 bucks of a tourist budget. clear even a third of that and every travel forum does the marketing for free