South Korea to Test CBDC With 100,000 Users and 7 Banks
This three-month initiative, running through the end of June, will involve seven South Korean banks, including KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH NongHyup, BNK Busan Bank, and the Industrial Bank of Korea.
Participants will have the opportunity to convert their traditional bank deposits into digital tokens, which can be used for daily purchases at selected merchants through banking apps utilizing QR code payments. Individual token holdings will be capped at 1 million won (~$690), with a cumulative transaction limit of 5 million won for the pilot duration.
Participating merchants include 7-Eleven convenience stores, Hanaro Mart supermarkets, Kyobo Bookstore, and Ediya Coffee shops, alongside online platforms such as Hyundai Home Shopping. The initiative aims to evaluate the viability of CBDCs in simplifying current payment and settlement systems, potentially reducing transaction fees by enabling real-time merchant settlements.
The BOK plans to publicly solicit participants for Project Hangang later this month. According to a BOK official, the pilot aims to minimize intermediary roles within transactions, thereby assessing the practical efficiencies of a CBDC model over traditional banking processes.
This real-world testing phase builds upon South Korea’s prior CBDC research initiatives and marks a significant step toward CBDC integration into daily economic activity. The pilot aligns with broader global efforts, with institutions like the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) projecting widespread adoption of CBDCs in both retail and wholesale capacities by 2030.
The experiment represents an escalation from theoretical modeling to practical application, situating South Korea among an expanding group of countries actively evaluating the viability of CBDCs for retail use.
Editorial Team
Reporter at Coindoo
