South Korea launches deposit token payment infrastructure project, extending CBDC pilot to private payments

According to ChainCatcher, DigitalToday reported that the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and the Ministry of Science and ICT have launched the "Deposit Token Payment Infrastructure Expansion Project," aiming to extend the outcomes of Korea's CBDC pilot "Project Hangang" to private-sector payments.

The project is overseen by the Korea Financial Settlement Service and involves 9 banks, 8 payment gateways, and 2 large demand-side participants, with a total budget of 9.6 billion KRW. Its goal is to reduce payment fees for small and micro merchants. The project leverages existing payment systems rather than building new infrastructure, allowing users to pay via bank deposit token wallets, and merchants do not need to replace their terminals.

The government also plans to apply deposit tokens to a pilot for public business travel expenses and explore a national treasury fund management model linked to dBrain. Around 3 billion KRW of the total project budget will be invested in development, operations, and promotion for SMEs, startups, and IT companies, and participating banks will separately advance approximately 4.5 billion KRW in related business initiatives.