Efforts to link stablecoins with established card networks are picking up pace, with Visa’s annualised stablecoin settlement volume at $4.5 billion and growing monthly. Korean internet banks are active around overseas remittances. Analysts expect the four biggest financial holding groups to post a combined 18.33 trillion won in annual net profit, up 12 percent. Financial firms also announced AI transformation programmes, fintech partnerships, listings and governance reforms, alongside legal changes for tokenised securities.

Shinhan Financial Group said it launched its AX Innovation Leaders program to move to a workplace-led, groupwide execution phase of AI transformation. It selected 100 practitioners from major subsidiaries to identify AI and data-based innovation tasks and redesign repetitive and inefficient work. The leaders will receive basic and advanced training on planning and developing AI agents. They will then design and implement AI agents using internal generative AI and unstructured data platforms.