BC Card Links to Overseas Digital Wallets, Enables USDC Payments Without Currency Exchange

On August 12, BC Card announced the completion of a proof-of-concept (PoC) project that connects overseas digital asset wallets with domestic card payment infrastructure.

In this proof-of-concept, BC Card provided the card payment infrastructure and QR payment module, Coinbase was responsible for users' overseas wallets called "Base," and Waveridge handled the blockchain infrastructure and fiat currency conversion technology. Conducted for about three months starting from April 2026, this initiative was safely carried out within each company's technology verification environment prior to applying it to commercial services. The project designed a scenario in which foreign tourists pay at domestic BC QR merchants using USDC stored in their Base wallets, thereby verifying the completeness of the technology.

BC Card explained that this project directly connected payment infrastructure and blockchain infrastructure, verifying the entire process from foreign stablecoin payments to Korean won settlement. In particular, the company stably implemented difficult features in blockchain environments, such as payment cancellations and refunds, by utilizing the card payment process together with Waveridge's institutional digital asset infrastructure. As a result, in the event of a merchant cancellation or unexpected errors, they successfully ensured that the USDC used for payment could be immediately returned to the customer’s wallet.

Additionally, by leveraging BC Card’s payment infrastructure to enable direct payments from overseas digital asset wallets without a separate currency exchange process, the company significantly enhanced payment convenience for foreign tourists.

Youngwoo Kim, CEO of BC Card, stated, "This proof-of-concept is a meaningful example that has practically verified the stability of domestic card payment infrastructure in global stablecoin payment services. Moving forward, we will continue to expand digital asset payment services that contribute to our customers, merchant partners, and national competitiveness by combining KT Group’s capabilities with BC Card’s network of 3.5 million merchants and global settlement infrastructure."

Jongwook Oh, CEO of Waveridge, commented, "Through this proof-of-concept, we have proven the importance of managing conversions between digital assets and fiat currency in the process of linking blockchain with existing payment infrastructure. Going forward, in line with ongoing domestic regulatory developments, we will continue to strengthen infrastructure covering the entire spectrum from digital asset custody to fiat currency conversion."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.