Shinhan Card and SBI to Test Yen Stablecoin Payments for Korea-Japan Travel and Trade

South Korea’s Shinhan Card has signed an agreement with Japan’s SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC to test yen stablecoin payments for travelers and cross border trade settlement. The pact was signed Tuesday and announced Wednesday. The companies plan to trial stablecoin card payments, wallet-to-wallet transfers and cross-border settlement, and they will also review anti-money-laundering and fraud-detection controls.

Who Is Behind the Pilot

Shinhan Card is one of South Korea’s largest credit card companies. SBI is a major Japanese financial group with banks, brokerages, insurers and crypto exchanges. The goal is to support smoother payments and settlement between the two countries and make life easier for travelers moving between them.

Strong Travel Flows Between Korea and Japan

More than 10 million visitor arrivals were recorded between the two countries in the first eight months of 2026, according to official tourism data. South Korea was Japan’s biggest source of foreign visitors with 7.42 million arrivals, while Japan ranked second for South Korea with 2.7 million.

Earlier Stablecoin Groundwork

Shinhan Card completed a proof of concept in April covering stablecoin payments and cross-border settlement. SBI VC Trade registered in March 2025 as Japan’s first electronic payment instruments exchange service provider, which allows it to handle USDC.