Ripple, KBank pilot stablecoin remittances to UAE, Thailand

The agreement was signed on April 27 at KBank’s headquarters in Seoul and launches a multi-stage proof of concept to test stablecoin-based remittances between Korea and corridors to the United Arab Emirates and Thailand.

KBank CEO Choi Woo-hyung and Fiona Murray, Ripple’s Asia-Pacific managing director, formalized the pilot. The project will test on-chain settlement using a stablecoin to compare speed, cost and transparency with traditional correspondent banking.

The pilot is running in phases. An initial phase evaluated a wallet-based remittance service through a separate app interface. A second phase connects KBank customer accounts and internal banking systems to the on-chain transfer layer to test operational stability and integration with existing bank infrastructure. Ripple’s Palisade software-as-a-service wallet is being used and settlement tests use a stablecoin to limit exposure to crypto price volatility during a compliance-focused trial.

KBank is South Korea’s first pure online bank and is the exclusive banking partner for a major domestic crypto exchange. That relationship and Korea’s requirement that exchange users link verified bank accounts helped KBank grow from about 2 million users in 2020 to roughly 15 million by the end of 2025.

South Korea is developing a Digital Asset Basic Act expected to classify stablecoins as payment instruments and set rules for cross-border digital-asset activity. Financial institutions in the country have been testing blockchain infrastructure while regulators finalize the framework; the KBank pilot will examine compliance, operational controls and customer experience under real-bank conditions.

Ripple has been expanding institutional work in Korea, including an April agreement with an insurer to explore tokenized government bond settlement and near-real-time treasury settlement using stablecoin rails. The company is also working with institutional partners on tokenization and combined foreign-exchange and payment settlement projects.

The pilot will collect technical performance, cost and transparency data to assess whether stablecoin settlement can be scaled within regulated banking operations. Fiona Murray described KBank as “an innovator” and noted its digital-first profile and experience integrating crypto services.