South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank has completed a pilot of blockchain-based cross-border payments using Partior’s blockchain platform.
In the pilot, J.P. Morgan acted as both the beneficiary and settlement bank.
Partior’s blockchain solutions, already in commercial use by banks including J.P. Morgan, DBS, Standard Chartered, and Deutsche Bank, are designed to integrate with core banking systems, providing continuous, real-time settlement capabilities.
This pilot represents the first instance in Korea where a financial institution has tested a blockchain payment network already used commercially by leading global banks.
NH NongHyup Bank carried out transactions reflecting realistic cross-border payment and foreign currency liquidity management scenarios for the Korean market.
The exercise validated technical capabilities such as system interoperability, message processing accuracy, and real-time settlement functionality.
The pilot used simulated data, with no actual fund transfers or customer information involved.
The results indicate that blockchain-based payments could be implemented within Korea’s current regulatory framework.
Partior’s live network has demonstrated operational capability across USD, EUR, and SGD in the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
NH NongHyup Bank also noted that, with future stablecoin regulations in Korea, the network could potentially support a broader range of digital settlement instruments, highlighting its technical scalability.
A representative from NH NongHyup Bank said,
“Our collaboration with Partior has laid the groundwork for building a blockchain-enabled payment ecosystem. We expect that, once operationalised, this model could significantly reduce structural inefficiencies inherent in the current system.”
Humphrey Valenbreder, Chief Executive Officer of Partior, added,
“We look forward to our continued partnership to offer the precision of real-time finality and operational efficiency that will be a strategic advantage for NH NongHyup Bank.”
Following the pilot, NH NongHyup Bank plans to advance discussions toward production-level deployment and strengthen collaboration with global financial institutions to develop a Korea-led blockchain-based cross-border payment infrastructure.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by freepik