Dunamu, the operator of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, said Friday that it has partnered with global payments provider Visa to develop financial and payment services built on stablecoins and artificial intelligence.

The two companies unveiled a road map for the partnership on Thursday at Visa's Global Market Support Center in San Francisco.

The tie-up comes as stablecoins — digital tokens typically pegged to assets such as the U.S. dollar — move from crypto trading venues into mainstream payment infrastructure. Visa has already piloted settling transactions with payment providers in the USDC stablecoin, and the United States enacted its first federal framework for payment stablecoins, the GENIUS Act, earlier this year. In South Korea, the government has said it plans to allow won-based stablecoins issued by qualified financial institutions, with related bills still pending in the National Assembly.

Under the plan, Dunamu's digital asset technology will be combined with Visa's global payments network to explore stablecoin-based payment and remittance services in major markets. The two firms will also explore broader ways to expand the use of digital assets.

Among the areas under discussion are business models based on OUSD, an open-standard stablecoin, as well as new user experiences in payments and settlement.

The collaboration also extends to AI-powered payment services, combining artificial intelligence with stablecoin-based payment and settlement infrastructure. Related technologies and infrastructure for agentic commerce are under consideration as well — a model in which AI agents search for products or services and complete purchases and payments on behalf of users. Payments incumbents have been moving in the same direction this year, with Visa introducing its Intelligent Commerce initiative for AI-agent transactions and Mastercard unveiling its Agent Pay protocol, making agentic commerce an emerging competitive front across the card industry.

The partnership will be developed in stages, with a focus on stability, transparency, interoperability and regulatory compliance.

"AI, stablecoins and tokenization are key trends that will reshape how finance and commerce operate," said Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok. "Through our partnership with Visa, we will connect digital assets with traditional finance and create new global financial experiences for users."

The announcement did not disclose launch timelines, target markets or commercial terms for the services under discussion.