Won stablecoin push heightens turf war in payments industry

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Players in the payments sector are facing intensifying competition to secure a dominant position in the evolving stablecoin market as the government and the ruling party accelerate efforts to institutionalize a won-denominated stablecoin, industry officials said Wednesday.

Card issuers are pursuing a strategy of integrating stablecoins into their existing authorization and settlement networks, while payment gateway firms are seeking a larger role in the value chain by registering related trademarks and internalizing wallet infrastructure.

The Financial Services Commission, the country’s top financial regulator, convened its public-private virtual asset committee on Wednesday to finalize discussions on stablecoin provisions under the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) aims to finalize a draft within the week.

A separate stablecoin task force under the Credit Finance Association has circulated draft guidelines outlining how key compliance requirements, including anti-money laundering, know-your-customer procedures and fraud detection systems, could be incorporated into existing card oversight frameworks.

The group plans to launch a proof-of-concept trial later this month to determine whether won-denominated commercial payments can be processed in stablecoin form, with completion targeted for the first half of the year.

For card issuers, the central concern is preserving their credit-based business model.

Stablecoin payments function largely as prepaid transactions, whereas card issuers set themselves apart by providing postpaid settlement, installment options and other credit-based services.

Industry observers say that as long as final approval and settlement are processed through existing card networks, even under a stablecoin framework, card companies could preserve a significant share of their current fee revenues.

Cross-border payments are another focal point. Overseas card transactions currently include global network fees and foreign exchange charges. The adoption of stablecoin-enabled real-time settlement could reduce reliance on international schemes and create room to recalibrate cost structures.

“A broader shift toward stablecoins has the potential to disrupt the settlement framework dominated by Visa and Mastercard,” an industry official said.

Payment gateway companies are likewise positioning stablecoins as a means of reshaping settlement architecture.

Major players including Toss operator Viva Republica, Naver Pay and Kakao Pay have moved to secure trademarks related to stablecoins, signaling preparations to expand their role in the emerging ecosystem.

With their direct contractual relationships with hundreds of thousands of merchants, payment gateway firms already control substantial volumes of payment and settlement data. Adding digital asset wallets to that foundation could enable a blockchain-based clearing model centered on merchant networks. Under such a structure, some transactions could, at least in theory, bypass traditional card networks.

Even so, industry observers expect the near-term impact on consumers to be limited, as the country’s payment infrastructure is already highly advanced. The widespread use of cards and mobile wallets is likely to limit any noticeable change in convenience.

Commenting on the legislative push, Rep. Ahn Do-geol of the DPK said efforts to narrow differences among stakeholders have made significant progress.

“The most important task for the party and the government is to coordinate within the week and produce a compromise proposal that the industry can accept,” he said.