South Korea’s BC Card Tests Stablecoin Spending for Foreign Users, Signaling Early Infrastructure Build for Crypto Payments

Pilot Links Overseas Stablecoin Wallets to Korea’s Card Network as Regulatory Debate Intensifies

TL;DR

• BC Card completed a December 2025 pilot enabling foreign users to spend stablecoins at South Korean merchants via digital prepaid cards and QR payments.
• The test focused on real-world usability, settlement accuracy, and integration with existing card infrastructure rather than a public rollout.
• The move lands amid unresolved regulatory debate in South Korea over who can issue stablecoins and under what framework.

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South Korea’s payments sector has taken a measured but notable step toward real-world crypto usage after BC Card confirmed it had completed a pilot program allowing foreign users to spend stablecoins at local merchants. The initiative, disclosed on December 23, 2025, enabled overseas stablecoin holders to convert their digital assets into digital prepaid cards that could be used across BC Card’s existing merchant network, effectively bridging on-chain value with South Korea’s mainstream payment rails. The company framed the project less as a consumer launch and more as groundwork, designed to test whether stablecoin payments could function seamlessly within the country’s highly regulated, high-volume card ecosystem.

The pilot relied on partnerships with blockchain and payments firms Wavebridge, Aaron Group, and Global Money Express, combining blockchain infrastructure, digital wallet services, and cross-border remittance capabilities. Foreign users participating in the test linked overseas wallets holding stablecoins to partner platforms, which issued digital prepaid cards denominated for use in Korea. Payments were completed through QR codes at physical locations such as cafes, convenience stores, and supermarkets, with transactions processed through BC Card’s standard approval and settlement systems. From a merchant’s perspective, payments appeared no different from ordinary card transactions, a design choice aimed at minimizing friction and operational change at the point of sale.

Operational reliability was a central focus of the trial. BC Card said the system was tested not only for successful payments but also for edge cases such as transaction cancellations and corrections, functions that are routine in traditional card networks but often overlooked in crypto payment experiments. Earlier in the year, the company had filed a patent covering technology that calculates precise stablecoin deductions from digital wallets, adjusting amounts in real time so users pay only what is required even when minor price fluctuations occur. BC Card President Choi Won-seok described stablecoins at the time as a “powerful paradigm” capable of reshaping existing payment processes, signaling that the pilot was aligned with a longer-term strategic view rather than a one-off test.

The scale of BC Card’s existing footprint adds weight to the experiment. The company processes more than 20% of South Korea’s card transactions and serves roughly 3.4 million merchants nationwide, making it one of the country’s most influential payment intermediaries. Majority-owned by KT Corp, BC Card sits at the intersection of finance and telecommunications infrastructure, positioning it to experiment with new payment technologies while maintaining compatibility with legacy systems. Industry observers noted that the firm has also established an internal team dedicated to tracking domestic and international stablecoin developments, reflecting a broader shift among incumbents from passive observation to active preparation.

Regulatory uncertainty remains the largest variable shaping what comes next. South Korea is still debating the contours of its stablecoin framework under the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, with sharp disagreements over who should be allowed to issue won-denominated stablecoins. The Bank of Korea has argued that banks should hold at least a 51% stake in any stablecoin issuer to safeguard monetary stability, while the Financial Services Commission has pushed for a more inclusive model that would allow non-bank fintech and blockchain companies to participate. Political figures involved in the debate have criticized restrictive proposals as out of step with global practice, and the disagreement has delayed the submission of comprehensive legislation to the National Assembly until early 2026.

Against that backdrop, BC Card’s pilot is being interpreted as a pragmatic hedge. By testing infrastructure now, the company can move quickly once regulatory clarity emerges, regardless of which issuance model lawmakers ultimately adopt. External legal and industry experts have pointed out that stablecoin integration will require banks and payment processors to rethink legacy operations, settlement cycles, and compliance workflows, changes that cannot be implemented overnight. The pilot aligns South Korea with a broader global trend in which established payment players are quietly experimenting with stablecoins as complementary rails rather than positioning them solely as competitors to existing systems. While BC Card has not announced a timeline for a commercial rollout, the experiment suggests the plumbing for stablecoin payments is being assembled in advance, leaving policy to catch up.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.