Toss tests blockchain system for public payments
Corporate logos of Komsco and Toss / Courtesy of Toss
Toss, Korea’s dominant financial super-app, has completed a proof of concept with the state-run Korea Minting, Security Printing and ID Card Operating Corp. for a blockchain-based public payment infrastructure connecting digital currency with existing payment systems, the companies said Friday.
The project follows a memorandum of understanding signed in April and examines whether blockchain-based digital currency can work with existing public payment infrastructure.
Toss and Korea Minting, Security Printing and ID Card Operating Corp. built a separate test environment for local love gift certificates and implemented the full payment process, from charging gift certificate tokens with blockchain-based digital currency to payments and merchant settlements.
The system uses Optimism, an ethereum layer 2 network, to process transactions while linking digital currency transfers with transactions handled by existing payment systems.
The companies also tested Privacy Boost, a privacy solution designed to protect sensitive transaction information from exposure on a public blockchain during payments.
Rather than replacing existing public payment infrastructure, the test preserved its existing payment and operating processes while examining whether blockchain-based digital currency could be added as another payment and settlement method.
The project also tested simultaneous payment and settlement, allowing merchants to move funds at a time of their choosing, according to Toss.
Toss said the structure could allow small businesses to receive sales proceeds sooner and reduce settlement costs if adopted in actual services.
The test was conducted as part of cooperation following the April agreement between Toss and Korea Minting, Security Printing and ID Card Operating Corp. to explore connections between digital currency and public payment infrastructure.
Toss said public payment infrastructure must prioritize stability and personal information protection, adding that it will continue testing payment and settlement systems that could reduce burdens on small businesses while complying with regulations.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.