BDACS Partners With Rain, Says KRW1 Can Be Used at Visa Merchants Worldwide

Digital-asset infrastructure company BDACS said on September 15 that it has partnered with payments infrastructure firm Rain to link the won-denominated stablecoin KRW1 to Visa’s global card payment network.

Under the partnership, Rain card users will be able to make instant payments in KRW1 at Visa merchants. BDACS will oversee issuance and custody of KRW1, a regulatory-compliant stablecoin backed by the Korean won, while Rain will handle Visa card issuance and the global merchant payment and settlement infrastructure.

Card users will be able to pay in the same way they do now, without preloading funds, manually exchanging currency or converting into another stablecoin. Rain will handle on-chain settlement with the card network on the backend.

The partnership marks BDACS’s expansion into global payments. Through its integration with Rain’s card infrastructure, the company plans to operate card programs across Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe, and broaden KRW1 use in areas such as overseas travel and study, global settlements, and corporate travel and expenses.

BDACS said it plans to expand the scope of its collaboration with Rain in stages, in line with regulatory developments including South Korea’s Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, as foreign-exchange reporting and tax treatment for overseas card payments tied to stablecoins are still being legislated.

“The combination of won stablecoin infrastructure and Rain’s card infrastructure could provide a turning point for on-chain finance to enter everyday life, as the internationalization of the won begins to take shape,” BDACS Chief Executive Officer Ryu Hong-yeol said.

“Every market is thinking about how to extend the influence of its domestic currency to users around the world through global financial infrastructure,” Rain Chief Executive Officer Farooq Malik said. KRW1 is helping the won move freely like other global currencies, he added, and BDACS’s use of Rain’s infrastructure will help secure practical utility for the stablecoin.