Ripple signs first Korean regional bank for cross-border payments

Ripple announced a partnership with Jeonbuk Bank on August 18 that makes it the first regional bank in South Korea to deploy Ripple Payments for cross-border remittances, according to a company statement issued in Seoul. The service settles in seconds to minutes and runs continuously, against transfers through the SWIFT network that pass through several intermediary banks and can take days.

Jeonbuk Bank will direct the service at global business customers including import-export companies, IT startups and online content creators. Founded in 1969 in Jeonju, the bank is the dominant lender in North Jeolla Province and part of JB Financial Group.

“Regional banks play a vital role in the real economy,” said Fiona Murray, managing director for Asia Pacific at Ripple, in the statement, describing the deployment as a step for the country’s wider financial system.

Park Choon-won, president of JB Jeonbuk Bank, said the partnership would let the bank move beyond its role as a regional lender and become a digital finance leader meeting global standards, calling it a new growth engine.

Neither company disclosed which asset settles the payments. Ripple’s release describes the service only as near real-time settlement, and does not state whether XRP, its RLUSD stablecoin or a won-pegged instrument is used, according to Blockonomi, which also noted that fee schedules, supported corridors and a launch date were not disclosed. XRP slipped below $1 following the announcement, Benzinga reported.

The agreement is Ripple’s third with a South Korean institution this year, each covering a different product. Kyobo Life Insurance signed in April to explore on-chain settlement of Korean government bonds, and Kbank, the country’s first internet-only bank, adopted Ripple Custody for institutional digital asset operations later the same month.

Ripple’s payment documentation lists Korean won support for business transfers of up to $2 million per transaction depending on the use case. The company has also expanded its regulated presence elsewhere, adding Ripple Payments Europe to the European Securities and Markets Authority register under MiCA after authorisation in Luxembourg.