Insurance Training Institute becomes first financial education institution to accept crypto for tuition payments…capacity filled early in three days

A pilot program allowing tuition payments in stablecoins, introduced by the Insurance Training Institute as the first such initiative among domestic education institutions, reportedly closed early just three days after launch.

According to industry sources on the 15th, the institute limited dollar-pegged stablecoin (USDT·USDC) payments to the first 20 applicants for enrollment in the second cohort of its “Crypto Literacy Program,” which opened on the 9th, and the slots were filled within three days.

The institute said it verified deposits by matching the transaction IDs (TXIDs) provided by applicants against exchange data, and that all payments were confirmed without errors. It explained that this demonstrated the stability of its digital-asset payment system.

The pilot marks the first case among domestic education institutions to allow tuition to be paid in stablecoins. The institute had formalized the introduction of the system in a press release on the 5th. At the time, it said the move was intended to prepare for the adoption of a won-denominated stablecoin and to use digital assets not as an investment vehicle but as a practical means of payment and settlement.

Participants can choose stablecoin payment in addition to bank transfer and credit card payment, and the institute offered a discount of about 10% on tuition for stablecoin payments to promote adoption. Payments and refunds are processed via Upbit’s corporate wallet, with participants transferring assets from their Upbit wallets to the institute’s wallet.

The institute has been in discussions with Upbit since the second half of last year and conducted payment and refund tests, and it opened a corporate wallet last month.

Going forward, the institute plans to expand cooperation with major domestic exchanges and, once stablecoin-related legislation is finalized, to switch from dollar stablecoin payments to won stablecoin payments.

Ha Tae-kyung, head of the Insurance Training Institute, said, “The early closure of this pilot shows we have the capability to operate digital-asset payments in practice,” adding, “We will strengthen our global competitiveness by combining AI and stablecoins.”