[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Shin Hyunsong: "Crypto Cards Pose Risk of Circumventing Regulations... Will Monitor Closely"

“We will also work closely with relevant agencies”

Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song said the central bank would monitor new types of payment methods, including crypto cards, more closely and coordinate its response with financial authorities.

Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song speaks at a press conference on the Monetary Policy Board’s monetary policy direction at the Bank of Korea in Jung District, Seoul, on Aug. 27. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Appearing on Oct. 12 at the National Assembly’s parliamentary audit of the Bank of Korea before the Finance and Economy Planning Committee, Governor Shin responded to concerns raised by Kim Nam-jun of the Democratic Party of Korea about issues associated with new types of payment methods such as crypto cards. “When a crypto card is used, an intermediary converts the payment into fiat currency before making the payment, so we understand that fees are generally considerably higher than those for other payment methods,” he said. “However, there are risks such as circumvention of various regulations, so we will continue to monitor the situation closely, improve our information, and work closely with relevant agencies.”

Asked by Kim whether statistical changes were needed to help reduce South Korea’s services trade deficit, such as separately tracking the share of spending on artificial intelligence (AI) subscriptions, Shin said, “For trade in goods, customs data allows us to capture the figures relatively accurately. But for trade in services, we have to compile data from other sources. We mainly rely on payment methods, particularly credit card spending.” He added, “We have been compiling balance-of-payments statistics on trade in knowledge services since 2023. AI subscription fees are not tracked separately because it is difficult to access the relevant information, but we will continue our efforts to produce more accurate statistics that reflect the trends of the times.”

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