K Bank tests Ripple’s digital wallet payments with UAE and Thailand
South Korea’s internet-only bank K Bank and Ripple are carrying out their second phase of their cross border PoC ( Proof of concept) leveraging Ripple’s digital wallet ” Palisade” to improve cross border transfers targeting key jurisdictions such ass the UAE and Thailand.
K Bank recently formalized a strategic partnership for “blockchain-based cross-border transfer technology verification” at its headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. The meeting was attended by K Bank CEO Choi Woo-hyung and Ripple’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) Managing Director Fiona Murray. The two parties agreed to utilize Ripple’s global network and blockchain infrastructure to eliminate inefficiencies inherent in transfers made via the traditional SWIFT network.
K Bank has already completed the first phase of technical verification using an in-house development method. That phase primarily confirmed the feasibility of the transfer structure based on a separate app. The current second phase goes a step further by virtually linking customer accounts and internal systems to assess transfer stability in a simulated real-world environment. Notably, the bank is testing “on-chain” transfer methods targeting key jurisdictions such as the UAE and Thailand.
Kbank has replaced its internal wallet solution with Ripple’s Palisade, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based digital wallet. The reason KBank gave for the replacement was that Palisade is already equipped with financial-institution-grade security systems, including Hardware Security Modules (HSM) and a multi-approval structure, allowing for faster deployment and scalability.
K Bank CEO Choi Woo-hyung emphasized, “This collaboration will serve as a critical turning point in elevating K Bank’s blockchain-based cross-border transfer technology competitiveness to a global level.” Ripple’s APAC Managing Director Fiona Murray responded, “It is meaningful to partner with K Bank, which has led innovation by presenting new standards for digital banking in South Korea.”
If this technical verification is successfully completed, K Bank is highly likely to become the first bank in South Korea to commercialize a blockchain-based, real-time cross-border transfer service.
