Shinhan Card Signs Memorandum With Solana Foundation to Build Stablecoin Payments on Solana Testnet

South Korea’s Shinhan Card has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation to build stablecoin payment systems on the Solana blockchain, with the work centered on an advanced proof-of-concept using Solana’s test network.

“Shinhan Card, South Korea’s largest credit card company, hasteamed upwith the Solana Foundation to test stablecoin payments in real‑world scenarios”

BanklessTimes

Cryptonews.net says Shinhan Card and the Solana Foundation “signed an agreement regarding stablecoins and Web3 payments,” and that Shinhan Card is “conducting an advanced proof-of-concept (PoC) study this year on Solana’s test network.”

BanklessTimes

The Block reports that Shinhan Card “announced Thursday that it has signed a partnership with Solana Foundation to build stablecoin payment systems on the Solana blockchain,” and that the PoC is designed to focus on “real-world payment scenarios between customers and merchants on Solana’s testnet.”

The Korea Herald similarly frames the plan as an MoU to “collaborate on stablecoin payment technologies and expand its high tech payment ecosystem,” with the companies planning to conduct an “advanced proof-of-concept” building on a preliminary PoC completed last year.

Multiple outlets describe the same core testing approach: simulating payment scenarios between customers and merchants on the Solana testnet while evaluating technical stability and operational viability.

In the Cryptonews.net account, Shinhan Card’s PoC is aimed at “verifying the security and stability of the decussed wallets,” and the company says it will later “scale the technology on a larger scale later on.”

Across the coverage, the partnership is also described as part of a broader effort to connect blockchain payments to real-world transaction data using oracle technology.

A major emphasis in the Shinhan Card–Solana plan is on non-custodial wallets and the security and stability of those wallets under realistic payment conditions.

The Block says one core element of the PoC is “validating the security and stability of non-custodial wallets to enable Shinhan to deploy the technology at scale,” while crypto.news describes the trial as evaluating “non-custodial wallet security” and “verifying the security and stability of non-custodial wallets.”

Bitcoin News

Cryptonews.net adds that Shinhan Card’s PoC focuses on “verifying the security and stability of the decussed wallets,” and it also says Shinhan Card “aims to build its own DeFi service environment using oracle technology to securely connect real-world transaction data to the blockchain network.”

The Korea Herald and Cointelegraph both describe the same oracle-driven architecture, with The Korea Herald saying Shinhan Card will “leverage oracle technology to securely connect real-world transaction data to blockchain networks and build its own DeFi service environment,” and Cointelegraph describing “DeFi-linked services of its own, which implement blockchain oracles.”

The partnership also includes hybrid finance models that combine traditional finance infrastructure with decentralized finance.

The Korea Herald says Shinhan Card “will pursue development of a hybrid financial model that combines traditional finance infrastructure with decentralized finance,” and crypto.news similarly says the company is “exploring hybrid finance structures that combine elements of traditional financial systems with decentralized finance protocols.”

In the Cryptonews.net description, Shinhan Card says it will “proactively explore next-generation financial models,” and it frames the work as examining “practical applicability of blockchain technology.”

The Block quotes Shinhan Card’s executive vice president Kim Young-il saying, “Building on Solana, we plan to closely examine the practical applicability of blockchain technology and proactively explore next-generation financial models,” tying the technical work to a stated business objective.

Regulatory expectations in South Korea are repeatedly presented as a gating factor for whether Shinhan Card moves beyond testnet trials into commercial deployment.

“Shinhan Card Signs Solana Foundation MOU to Expand Stablecoin, Web3 Payments Summary - Shinhan Card said it signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation to expand the stablecoin and Web3 payments ecosystem”

bloomingbit

Cryptonews.net and crypto.news both connect the project’s rollout to the country’s evolving legal framework, with crypto.news stating that Shinhan Card will “evaluate the results of the pilot in line with regulatory developments in South Korea and the Asia-Pacific region.”

The Block says the partnership is being evaluated against “the developing regulatory landscape in South Korea and the broader Asia-Pacific region,” and it notes that South Korean legislators are developing the “Digital Asset Basic Act.”

Cointelegraph similarly says the partnership’s “ultimate goal” is to explore DeFi-linked services and that Shinhan Card will align its efforts with the “developing regulatory landscape,” while The Korea Herald says Shinhan Card would review “concrete plans for launching related services in line with future regulatory requirements.”

Bitcoin News adds a more specific timing claim, saying Shinhan Card’s rollout is “pending 2026 rules” under South Korea’s Digital Asset Act.

In the TradingView account, the partnership is described as arriving “amid improving global regulatory clarity,” and it also ties the integration to a “day after Visa expanded its own stablecoin settlement pilot to nine blockchains.”

The Block’s account includes a direct quote from Shinhan Card’s executive vice president Kim Young-il, and it frames the PoC as a way to validate practical applicability before deployment.

The Korea Herald also includes a Solana Foundation official’s stated emphasis on compliance and customer protection, saying the collaboration would “prioritiz[e] regulatory compliance and customer protection.”

Bloomingbit reports that Shinhan Card said April 30 that it signed the MoU, and it describes the agreement as aiming to offer a “safe and convenient payment environment when related regulations are put in place.”

Taken together, the coverage portrays the testnet work as a prerequisite step, with the Digital Asset Basic Act and related regulatory developments shaping the next phase.

Several outlets describe the partnership as building on earlier work, including a preliminary proof-of-concept completed last year and a broader PoC completed earlier in April.

The Korea Herald says the advanced PoC would be “building on a preliminary PoC completed last year,” while Cointelegraph says Shinhan Card “completed a successful PoC with the Solana Foundation on six key areas” on April 9.

CoinCentral

Cointelegraph lists those six areas as “blockchain-based peer-to-peer payments, digital asset integrated payment infrastructure, stablecoin-based check and credit hybrid products, stablecoin-based cross-border remittances and settlement, stablecoin payments and IC chip-based card payment services for crypto wallets.”

BanklessTimes similarly says the latest pilot “builds on earlier experiments in which Shinhan Card used blockchain and stablecoins for cross-border settlement and for hybrid card products.”

In the BanklessTimes account, Shinhan Card’s PoC is described as simulating “everyday transactions between customers and merchants” to test “speed, costs, and reliability when people use stablecoins for normal retail payments.”

MEXC Exchange’s reposted version adds a scale claim, saying the hybrid blockchain payment model could “eventually serve over 28 million cardholders in South Korea.”

TradingView also references the integration as a step toward real-world payments and notes that Shinhan Card’s collaboration with Solana is part of a series of partnership moves.

BanklessTimes includes a specific social-media-style line about “28 million cardholders” and describes the company’s plan to expand Web3-based payment models, including “won-based stablecoins,” in partnership with global players such as Solana, Visa, Fireblocks, and Mastercard.

While the outlets differ in how they characterize the prior work, they converge on the idea that the new phase is an “advanced” PoC on Solana’s testnet, with non-custodial wallets and oracle-linked DeFi systems as central components.

Across the coverage, the stated objective is to validate performance and reliability under conditions that mirror commercial payment flows.

The Shinhan Card–Solana partnership is presented in the crypto coverage as part of a wider push by financial institutions to test stablecoin rails and payment infrastructure across multiple networks.

“South Korea’s Shinhan Card taps Solana to test real-world stablecoin payments Shinhan Card signed a deal with Solana Foundation to expand stablecoin payment tests and explore non-custodial wallets and DeFi-based services”

Cointelegraph

TradingView says the Solana deal came “a day after Visa expanded its own stablecoin settlement pilot to nine blockchains,” and it specifies that Visa’s expansion included “Polygon, Base, and Canton Network.”

Cointelegraph

The same TradingView report also notes that “Meta has added support for USDC payments on Solana,” targeting “creators in Colombia and the Philippines.”

Bitcoin News and crypto.news both frame Shinhan Card’s move as reflecting “growing interest among traditional financial firms in blockchain-based infrastructure,” and they describe the partnership as a stablecoin pilot via Solana’s testnet.

The Block’s coverage places the Shinhan Card project alongside other institutional efforts by noting that “many South Korean financial institutions have recently joined hands with global blockchain and crypto companies,” including KBank’s partnership with Ripple to test cross-border remittances on the blockchain.

Cointelegraph adds that other large stablecoin issuers exploring stablecoins for improved payments and settlement include “Visa, Mastercard and BC Card,” and it cites Visa’s earlier work with “USD Coin (USDC) settlement services for some US-based financial institutions on the Solana blockchain in December 2025.”

In the Cryptonews.net account, Shinhan Card’s stated goal is to “build its own DeFi service environment using oracle technology,” which aligns with the broader theme of integrating stablecoin payments with on-chain execution and off-chain data.

Even the alternative outlets emphasize the same direction: BanklessTimes describes the partnership as a “real-world stablecoin trials” effort and says the company is testing “non-custodial wallets, where users control their keys.”

Across the reporting, the immediate consequence is a shift from earlier PoC work into an “advanced” test phase on Solana’s testnet, with the results intended to guide future product development and potential commercial launch once regulatory conditions are met.

The coverage also repeatedly ties the next steps to monitoring, governance, and operational stability, including the stated plan to “establish monitoring tools” and to “ensure consistency and reliability” in the systems being tested.