K bank CEO Choi Woo-hyung (left) and Ripple Asia-Pacific Managing Director Fiona Murray pose during a signing ceremony held recently at K bank's headquarters in Seoul. (K bank)
K bank CEO Choi Woo-hyung (left) and Ripple Asia-Pacific Managing Director Fiona Murray pose during a signing ceremony held recently at K bank's headquarters in Seoul. (K bank)

South Korea's internet-only lender K bank has signed a strategic partnership with global blockchain firm Ripple to test blockchain-based technology for overseas remittances.

The agreement was signed recently at K bank's headquarters in Seoul, the bank said Monday. Ceremony attendees included K bank CEO Choi Woo-hyung, Ripple Asia-Pacific Managing Director Fiona Murray and other officials from both companies.

Founded in 2012, Ripple operates Ripple Payments, a global financial network used by more than 100 financial companies worldwide. The company launched its own stablecoin, RLUSD, in 2024 and has applied for a US trust bank charter, with the approval process currently underway.

Under the partnership, K bank plans to use Ripple's global network and blockchain infrastructure to test whether the technology can improve the speed, cost efficiency and transparency of its existing overseas remittance system.

The two companies discussed broader areas of cooperation, including Ripple's digital wallet-based proof of concept, support for K bank's overseas remittance model, and expanded collaboration in digital assets.

K bank said it is already conducting a proof of concept with Ripple for overseas remittances, with the first phase testing transfers through a separate application and the second phase now assessing transaction stability by virtually linking customer accounts with internal systems.

The second phase will also test on-chain transfers with partners in the United Arab Emirates and Thailand, where K bank has signed memorandums of understanding for stablecoin-based transactions. K bank said it used an in-house wallet in the first phase and will use Ripple's SaaS-based digital wallet, Palisade, in the second to test a faster and more scalable model for compliance and deployment.

"We are pleased to partner with K bank, which has helped set the standard for digital banking in Korea and continues to drive innovation," Murray said.

"This partnership will help strengthen K bank's competitiveness in blockchain-based overseas remittance technology," Choi said.

By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)