Visa has entered a partnership with South Korean digital asset company Dunamu to explore stablecoin payments, cross-border remittances, and artificial intelligence-powered financial services, as financial institutions increasingly test blockchain-based money movement. The agreement links Dunamu's digital asset infrastructure with Visa's global payments network.

Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, South Korea's leading cryptocurrency exchange and long the dominant venue for won-denominated crypto trading in one of the world's most active retail crypto markets, said the partnership will focus on developing new payment and settlement models. The companies will also examine how stablecoins — digital tokens pegged to assets such as the US dollar — can connect with existing financial infrastructure while supporting compliant and interoperable digital asset services.

Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure

The partnership will explore potential applications for Open USD (OUSD), an emerging dollar-backed stablecoin developed under the Open Standard initiative. Dunamu has indicated, however, that OUSD remains one of several stablecoin options under consideration.

The companies plan to assess use cases that could include stablecoin-based payments and international remittances. Cross-border transfers are among the most developed commercial use cases for stablecoins, which can move value around the clock over blockchain rails, whereas traditional remittances routed through correspondent banks can take days to settle. They have not announced specific launch dates, markets, or consumer products.

Visa has accelerated its stablecoin strategy throughout 2026. The company first piloted settling transactions in the USDC stablecoin in 2021, and its global stablecoin settlement program now supports multiple blockchains. Visa has also introduced infrastructure designed to help financial institutions manage stablecoin operations.

AI Agents Could Transform Payments

The partnership also targets AI-powered payments and so-called agentic commerce, a model in which AI systems search for products or services and potentially complete transactions on behalf of users.

Visa has been developing infrastructure for AI-driven commerce, including systems designed to provide identity, authorization, security, and transaction controls. In 2025, the payments network unveiled its Visa Intelligent Commerce framework, designed to let AI agents shop and pay on a user's behalf using managed payment credentials with defined spending limits. The Dunamu partnership could extend those efforts into South Korea's rapidly developing digital asset market.

The deal comes shortly after Visa announced a separate collaboration with Shinhan Financial Group, one of South Korea's largest banking groups, involving stablecoins, AI, and business payments. Together, the agreements highlight South Korea's growing importance as traditional financial institutions and cryptocurrency companies explore blockchain-based payment infrastructure.

For Visa, the Dunamu partnership offers access to a major crypto market. For Dunamu, it provides a route to connect digital assets with established global payment infrastructure. The companies now face the challenge of turning their exploration into commercially viable products while navigating evolving regulations, including in South Korea, where lawmakers have been debating bills that would set rules for won-backed stablecoins and expand the framework established by the 2023 Virtual Asset User Protection Act.