The Bank of Korea (BOK) has launched a pilot program for its first 24-hour won settlement network, designed to allow foreign investors to settle won transactions beyond South Korea's traditional banking hours.
The central bank announced Monday that its international wire network began trial operations with four domestic lenders: KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank, and Shinhan Bank. Full operations are scheduled to commence in January 2027, with participation expected to expand to additional institutions and foreign banks at that time.
The network will operate continuously throughout the day, except on weekends and public holidays. Foreign investors will be able to settle won transactions during business hours in their home countries through accounts with Registered Foreign Institutions for KRW Business, or RFI-Ks, without requiring direct accounts with South Korean financial institutions.
The BOK stated that the network is intended to strengthen the won's international standing by improving foreign investors' access to won settlement infrastructure.
The central bank is also pursuing related initiatives in tokenized settlement systems. Through Project Agorá, led by the Bank for International Settlements, the BOK completed real-value cross-border payment trials in July using tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits, including the won.
Additionally, the BOK is advancing Project Hangang, a blockchain-based pilot that uses a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) to settle tokenized commercial bank deposits.
