Hana Financial Expands Digital-Asset Partnerships…Pushes USDC-Based Payments Marketing

YM Lee

Summary

Hana Financial Group said it is expanding collaboration with global digital-asset companies and laying the groundwork for partnerships related to a won-denominated stablecoin.
Hana Card said it will run a cashback program, in cooperation with a Circle affiliate—the issuer of USDC—and Crypto.com, that returns 5% in CRO on payments made by foreign visitors to Korea.
Hana Financial said it plans to verify the viability of digital-asset-linked payments and strengthen connectivity with the global digital-finance ecosystem by expanding USDC payments and acquiring and preparing approvals and licenses for a domestic digital-asset custody business.

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Hana Financial Group is expanding cooperation with global digital-asset companies as it moves to build a stablecoin-based payment ecosystem.

On the 5th, Hana Financial Group said it is broadening collaboration with global operators with the aim of leading the digital-asset ecosystem and is laying the groundwork for partnerships related to a won-denominated stablecoin.

Hana Card will begin payment marketing targeting foreign visitors to Korea from this month in cooperation with a Circle affiliate—the issuer of the global stablecoin USDC—and with crypto firm Crypto.com. The plan is to combine Hana Financial’s overseas network with services from global digital-asset companies to offer a new payment experience.

This marketing campaign targets foreign users who hold a Crypto.com Visa Card. A cashback program will apply under which users with a history of holding or topping up USDC will receive 5% of the payment amount back in CRO, the token of the Cronos ecosystem, when they pay at domestic merchants.

Through this, Hana Financial plans to verify the practical viability of digital-asset-linked payments in Korea’s card-payment environment and to uncover new consumer demand. At the same time, it aims to strengthen connectivity with the global digital-finance ecosystem and reflect this in future business strategy.

Previously, Hana Card signed a strategic business agreement with Circle in December 2025. Based on this, the two sides are pursuing joint marketing to expand USDC payments and acquiring.

A Hana Financial Group official said, "This project is part of the process of confirming the feasibility of payments using stablecoins," adding, "Going forward, we plan to identify various use cases that take into account distribution and utilization stages after institutionalization."

Meanwhile, Hana Financial is also expanding cooperation with global digital-asset companies. Through BitGo Korea, established as a joint venture with BitGo, a New York Stock Exchange-listed digital-asset custodian, it is also preparing to obtain approvals and licenses for a domestic digital-asset custody business.

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