Blockchain Payments Reach South Korea's Largest Bank

South Korea's Biggest Bank Goes Live on Kinexys

KB Kookmin Bank is set to become the first South Korean financial institution to route corporate payments through JPMorgan's Kinexys blockchain network. The bank will launch a blockchain-based cross-border USD payment service in August 2026, built on JPMorgan's Kinexys platform.The move makes KB Kookmin the first South Korean financial institution to use Kinexys for live corporate payments, with the new offering targeting import and export businesses.

At launch, the service will support USD remittances to ten countries: the United States, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, India, Thailand, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, South Africa, and South Korea itself.The service links blockchain settlement with SWIFT while supporting corporate transfers beyond normal banking hours.Customers will access the service through KB Kookmin Bank's domestic branches and its Singapore branch.

Kinexys, previously known as Onyx, is JPMorgan's blockchain platform for institutional payments, tokenization and digital asset services.The platform has processed more than $4 trillion in cumulative transaction volume, with average daily transactions exceeding $7 billion.KB Kookmin and JPMorgan had previously signed a memorandum of understanding focused on blockchain-based remittance innovation, and the August launch is the first concrete product to emerge from that partnership.

Part of a Broader Blockchain Push Across KB Financial Group

The Kinexys rollout is not an isolated move. In June, KB Kookmin Bank completed a $100 million digital bond sale through HSBC's Orion platform, with the two-year U.S. dollar bond settling in three business days compared with five days under the earlier process.KB Kookmin also participates in South Korea's tokenised deposit work, with the Ministry of Economy and Finance selecting nine banks for a project linking tokenised deposits with government spending systems.

Separately, the bank's card unit has been advancing its own blockchain agenda. KB Kookmin Card is partnering with @avax Avalanche and OpenAsset to build a hybrid stablecoin credit card system that spends from a blockchain wallet first, then falls back to traditional credit if needed.KB Kookmin Card filed a patent for the structure in January 2026, as South Korean financial groups race to roll out regulated stablecoin products.

Research firm S&P Global ranks KB Financial Group as South Korea's largest lender by assets and places it 28th among banks in the Asia-Pacific region, with about $552.76 billion in total assets. That scale gives the Kinexys launch immediate reach across one of Asia's most active trade finance markets.

Sources:Crypto.news: South Korea's largest bank brings cross-border payments to KinexysFinanceFeeds: JPMorgan's Kinexys to Power KB Kookmin Bank's Global Payment PlatformCrypto.news: KB Kookmin Card taps Avalanche for hybrid stablecoin credit card