BC Card, Coinbase to pursue USDC domestic payment pilot

BC Card announced on the 29th that it signed an MOU with global digital asset firm Coinbase to introduce the dollar-based stablecoin USDC for domestic payments.

The MOU was pursued to jointly examine a domestic payment structure utilizing both companies' technology and payment infrastructure in response to growing global demand for stablecoin payments.

Coinbase is a global digital asset company that jointly developed the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC with the U.S. company Circle.

In 2023, it built its own Ethereum-based blockchain network, 'Base,' and has continued to collaborate with major payment providers in key countries to expand USDC's global distribution and use.

Under the MOU, the two companies will jointly carry out a pilot project to integrate BC Card's QR payment solution into a Base chain-based wallet so customers holding USDC can make payments at domestic merchants.

Through this pilot, they will focus on verifying USDC payment convenience and the interoperability between the Base chain and BC Card's payment infrastructure, and on deriving a Korean won settlement process that complies with domestic laws and regulatory frameworks.

Furthermore, they plan to examine medium- to long-term cooperation possibilities such as ▲enhancing USDC domestic payment and settlement models ▲identifying partnership services based on both companies' networks ▲and activating the Base ecosystem in Korea.

Choi Won-seok, President of BC Card, said, "By combining the synergy between the two companies' infrastructures with the intellectual property that BC Card has proactively secured—such as core technology patents related to digital asset and stablecoin payment infrastructure—we will gradually build a USDC payment ecosystem optimized for the domestic environment."

Park Hyuk-jae, Head of East Asia for Coinbase's Base (BASE) division, said, "Since the passage of the U.S. GENIUS bill in 2025, the adoption of stablecoins across global financial infrastructure has been rapidly spreading," and added, "Through the linkage between the Base chain—which supports stablecoins linked to 15 fiat currencies—and BC Card's payment infrastructure, we will enhance global payment convenience in Korea."

Ye-won Kim, reporter yen88@wowtv.co.kr