Gwangju Bank and Toss test stablecoin payments

South Korea’s Gwangju Bank completed a proof of concept for stablecoin-based QR code payments in partnership with Seoul-based superapp Toss, finovate.com reported. The demonstration linked the regional bank’s mobile application with the Toss app and Toss Place payment terminals to verify app-to-app transaction flows using virtual merchant infrastructure.

The test represents a push into digital asset payment environments by regional financial institutions in South Korea. Gwangju Bank operates as a subsidiary of JB Financial Group with total assets of approximately KRW 34.4 trillion ($54 billion) at year-end 2025, while Toss serves 30 million users through an ecosystem exceeding 100 financial management services.

Gwangju Bank and Toss Execute Stablecoin QR Proof of Concept

The technical architecture connected the Gwangju Bank mobile app, the Toss app, and Toss Place payment terminals during the evaluation. Selecting stablecoin payment inside the bank app triggers the QR scanner within the Toss app, allowing users to scan a code displayed on the merchant terminal to verify amounts and execute transfers between customer and merchant wallets. App-to-app verification concludes inside the Gwangju Bank application once the transfer completes. finovate.com noted that the proof of concept relied entirely on a virtual merchant setup without actual customer data or assets.

Both entities plan to reduce the number of steps required for customers in subsequent updates. Discussions for a second phase of testing are currently underway to involve actual merchants operating in the Jeonnam and Gwangju regions.

The PoC conducted with Toss is significant in that it established a technological foundation to proactively respond to the digital asset payment environment and verified the user experience from a customer perspective

Byun Mi-Kyung

stated Gwangju Bank Vice President Byun Mi-Kyung, according to finovate.com.

Canton Foundation and LG CNS Form Korean Blockchain Alliance

The Canton Foundation partnered with Seoul-based IT services provider and systems integrator LG CNS to drive institutional adoption of the Canton Network in South Korea, according to finovate.com and europesays.com coverage. The collaboration focuses on three operational areas: institutional market development, technical enablement and implementation, and partner ecosystem expansion. LG CNS brings over 30 years of experience building core infrastructure for major commercial banks, insurers, credit card companies, and securities firms in the country.

Launched mainnet in July 2024, the Canton Network functions as a public, permissionless blockchain tailored for institutional finance. Its modular network-of-networks architecture uses a shared synchronization layer to maintain regulatory confidentiality while enabling atomic transactions and real-time settlement across independent ledgers.

Korea is a critical market for institutional adoption of Canton in Asia

Thomas Chou

said Canton Foundation Head of APAC Thomas Chou, as reported by finovate.com and europesays.com.

Korea Fintech Industry Association Deploys Counter-Hacking Measures

Association Chairman Kim Jong-hyun stressed that recent security events threaten public confidence in financial services rather than isolated corporate operations, urging closer cooperation with regulatory oversight bodies.