Key Takeaways
- Hana Card launched a program offering 5% CRO cashback on USDC-funded Visa payments for tourists in South Korea.
- South Korea is refining its Digital Asset Basic Act as banks prepare KRW-stablecoin projects ahead of 2026 regulation.
- USDC usage is expanding globally, with Circle reporting major growth and partnerships with Visa, FIS and international banks.
Stablecoins are quietly moving from crypto trading desks to everyday payments — and South Korea is becoming one of the latest testing grounds.
Hana Financial Group has launched a pilot program allowing foreign visitors to pay Korean merchants using USDC-funded Visa cards, offering cashback incentives designed to encourage adoption.
The initiative, built with Circle and Crypto.com, reflects a broader shift as banks and regulators prepare for a future where stablecoins sit alongside traditional payment networks.
For South Korea’s financial industry, the program is more than a promotional campaign. It is an early experiment in how blockchain-based money could integrate with regulated card infrastructure and domestic payment rails.
Hana Card Tests Stablecoin Payments for Tourists
The program is run through Hana Card, the credit card subsidiary of Hana Financial Group.
It specifically targets foreign tourists and international visitors, who can fund a Crypto.com prepaid Visa card using USDC and spend it at participating merchants across South Korea.
Users who pay with the card receive 5% cashback in CRO, Crypto.com’s native token.
The campaign launched immediately and leverages Hana Card’s position as a major processor of international payments.
The company handles roughly 50% of foreign card acquiring in South Korea, giving it a large share of transactions made by overseas visitors.
That positioning allows Hana to test stablecoin payments at scale while still operating within a traditional card-payment framework.
The initiative also builds on a growing partnership between Hana Financial Group and Circle.
In December 2025, Hana Card signed a strategic business agreement with Circle aimed at expanding USDC payment use cases and joint marketing efforts.
That agreement followed a May 2025 memorandum of understanding between Hana Bank and Circle, which explored broader stablecoin applications, including cross-border remittances and treasury services.
A Hana Financial Group official described the initiative as an early-stage experiment in integrating stablecoins into regulated finance.
“This project is part of the process of confirming the feasibility of payments using stablecoins… Going forward, we plan to identify various use cases that account for distribution and utilization stages after institutionalization.”
The effort also aligns with a broader push inside the group to expand digital asset capabilities.
Hana Financial Chairman Ham Young-joo has identified digital assets as a long-term growth driver, establishing a group-wide digital asset task force and advancing plans to secure a digital custody license through the BitGo Korea joint venture.
Preparing for a Korean Stablecoin Era
The USDC pilot arrives as South Korea moves closer to formal stablecoin regulation.
The government is developing the Digital Asset Basic Act, a sweeping framework designed to regulate crypto markets, token issuance and stablecoins.
Originally expected to be more extensive, lawmakers streamlined the draft legislation by roughly 21%, reducing it to 135 articles.
Key details about stablecoin issuance will be defined through enforcement decrees, allowing regulators more flexibility as the market evolves.
Under the proposed structure, stablecoin issuers will need 100% reserves held in bank custody, with a strong emphasis on consumer protection.
However, policymakers are still debating who should issue stablecoins.
The Bank of Korea has advocated for a model where banks control stablecoin issuance through consortium structures, arguing that this would protect financial stability.
Meanwhile, the Financial Services Commission has signaled support for a more flexible framework that allows a wider range of participants.
Despite the ongoing debate, banks are already preparing.
Hana Financial Group recently helped establish South Korea’s first stablecoin consortium, partnering with institutions including BNK Financial Group, iM Financial Group, SC First Bank and OK Savings Bank to explore a future KRW-pegged stablecoin.
Full implementation of the Digital Asset Basic Act is expected in 2026.
Meanwhile, interest in stablecoins continues to grow domestically.
Trading data shows that stablecoin-related activity accounted for roughly 17% of total trading volume on major exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb by early 2026, driven partly by demand for cross-border payments and tourism spending.
The result could be a hybrid system where global stablecoins like USDC operate alongside locally issued Korean won tokens.
Global Stablecoin Payments Accelerate
Hana’s initiative also reflects a broader surge in stablecoin adoption worldwide.
Circle reports that USDC supply has reached about $75 billion, representing roughly 72% growth year over year.
On-chain transaction activity has also expanded rapidly, with quarterly volume reaching $11.9 trillion, a 247% increase.
More broadly, stablecoin payments have grown from a niche crypto use case into a major financial infrastructure layer. A
Annual global payment volumes are estimated at roughly $2.5 trillion, supporting everything from remittances to cross-border business payments.
Circle has aggressively pursued partnerships with traditional financial institutions to expand that ecosystem.
In addition to the Hana collaboration, the company has worked with FIS to enable U.S. banks to transact in USDC, while Visa now supports stablecoin settlement for certain institutions through the Solana network.
Circle’s broader Payments Network includes major financial institutions such as Santander, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale, alongside fintech companies building real-time global payment services.
Other partnerships — including with BVNK for international payroll and Corpay for cross-border payment flows — highlight how stablecoins are increasingly being used as a bridge between traditional banking systems and blockchain networks.
For South Korea, Hana’s tourism-focused experiment may offer an early glimpse of that future: a payments system where regulated banks, global stablecoins and card networks operate on the same rails.
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Prashant Jha is a seasoned crypto journalist based in Delhi, India, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Engineering. Passionate about the evolving world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, he has been a dedicated voice in the industry since 2018. Prashant’s expertise lies in regulatory reporting, where he unravels complex legal and financial developments with clarity and precision. Before joining CCN in 2024, he honed his craft at Cointelegraph, establishing himself as a trusted name in crypto journalism.
His coverage spans major industry events, including the high-profile collapses of FTX, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), and LUNA, offering readers insightful analyses of their regulatory and market implications. Prashant’s technical background enables him to bridge the gap between intricate blockchain technology and its real-world applications, making his work accessible to novices and experts.
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