[Exclusive] Fashion Group Hyungji joins hands with Arbitrum…to roll out stablecoin payments and adopt DeFi

Signs strategic partnership with Arbitrum

Introduces stablecoin payments at 2,000 stores

Also pushes membership tokenization and DeFi integration

Korean mid-sized fashion retailer Fashion Group Hyungji (Hyungji) is moving to fully introduce a virtual-asset (cryptocurrency) payment system by partnering with global blockchain project Arbitrum.

On the 12th, Hyungji signed a strategic partnership with Offchain Labs, the blockchain infrastructure company that developed Arbitrum. Under the deal, Hyungji will build an integrated stablecoin payment infrastructure spanning roughly 2,000 offline stores in South Korea and Singapore as well as its online channels.

Choi Joon-ho, vice chairman of Hyungji, told Bloomingbit, “Arbitrum has the technological maturity to handle thousands of stores and millions of customers,” adding, “By adopting stablecoin payments, we will cut the burden of legacy payment fees and stand at the forefront of retail innovation.”

Hyungji is a fashion company that owns major brands such as Crocodile Lady and Chatelaine. It also operates a nationwide distribution network through its role as supplier of replica uniforms for the Korea’s largest school-uniform manufacturer Hyungji Elite and the professional baseball club Hanwha Eagles. Through the agreement, Hyungji expects to lower transaction fees and shorten settlement times by integrating a blockchain-based payment network into its existing card-centric payment structure.

As a payment method, industry sources are floating the possibility of “Hyungji Pay,” which Hyungji is developing in-house. The company is known to have been focusing on building an integrated payments platform since last year, hiring a large number of IT specialists. The industry believes Hyungji is reviewing ways to link stablecoins on top of Hyungji Pay to expand online-to-offline payment services.

The partners are also pursuing customer-experience innovation using blockchain technology. The two sides agreed to explore tokenizing the membership rewards program and linking it to decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The strategy is to go beyond payments and convert rewards and points into blockchain-based assets to create new financial value.

However, the specific stablecoins to be supported have not yet been finalized. Hyungji and Offchain Labs are said to view it as appropriate to make a final decision after South Korea’s stablecoin legislation and regulatory direction are clarified.

AJ Warner, chief strategy officer (CSO) at Offchain Labs, said, “Hyungji is a company that recognized the practical benefits of blockchain faster than anyone,” adding, “This partnership is an example showing that Web3 technology is becoming essential infrastructure for everyday commerce.”