Competition over global payment infrastructure centered on stablecoins is spreading across the financial industry.

Hana Financial Group has joined hands with Dunamu and POSCO International to cooperate on blockchain-based overseas remittances, seeking to expand real-world financial services. Global payments company Visa is expanding its stablecoin pilot and adding five new blockchains, accelerating ecosystem growth.

Against this backdrop, U.S. banks appear increasingly uneasy, urging stronger in-house blockchain strategies to respond to a stablecoin offensive by big tech and fintech firms. In South Korea, Shinhan Card has also moved to respond by expanding a stablecoin payment proof-of-concept project in cooperation with Solana.

As stablecoins quickly expand beyond simple investment assets into real-economy financial infrastructure such as payments and remittances, competition for leadership between traditional finance and fintech is taking shape.

• Hana Financial-Dunamu-POSCO International to cooperate in three-way partnership on blockchain remittances • Visa expands stablecoin pilot, adds five new blockchains • "Afraid of losing leadership" U.S. banks urge blockchain response to stablecoin push • Shinhan Card joins hands with Solana to expand stablecoin payment proof-of-concept

Stock markets at home and abroad continue a strong rise, with investor sentiment recovering quickly. The KOSPI settled above the 6,600 level and has set fresh record highs day after day despite negative factors for U.S. technology shares. U.S. stocks also showed a rebound after getting past earnings uncertainty at major companies, and the market is assessing that growth expectations centered on AI infrastructure remain valid.

Still, a view is emerging that May markets are likely to diverge in direction depending on macro variables such as corporate earnings, employment indicators and international oil prices. Market funds also appear to be concentrating in certain sectors such as semiconductors, and an analysis says allowing single-stock ETFs could intensify that concentration.

Buoyed by the stock market boom, securities firms are continuing earnings improvements while accelerating platform competition through upgrades to mobile trading systems and combinations of AI and content. Overall, funds are flowing more into capital markets, and the influence of the securities sector is also growing within the financial industry.

• [Market outlook] May stocks to be steered by earnings, jobs and oil prices • New York stocks rebound after earnings hurdle; Jim Cramer says AI infrastructure strength will continue • Securities firms' MTS race heats up as they push AI and content and shift platforms • KOSPI rises despite negative factors for U.S. tech shares, setting record highs day after day • Door opens to single-stock ETFs; will semiconductor concentration grow? • KOSPI holds above 6,600, sets record highs for a second straight day • President Lee says stock market normalization is at a stage where a few big stones have been removed • Securities firms soar on stock rally, becoming a first-quarter earnings driver for financial holding companies

The fintech industry is accelerating service upgrades and revenue diversification, centered on payments and wealth management. Hecto Financial is seeing growing expectations for record results based on stablecoin scalability, while Hecto Wallet One has moved to expand the market with a 'two-track' wallet adoption strategy targeting payment gateway firms.

Kakao Pay marked the 10th anniversary of its simple remittance service and has recorded cumulative transactions of 447 trillion won, establishing itself as an everyday finance platform. Payple has moved to strengthen customized services for merchants by introducing an AI-based 'briefing card'.

Electronic financial payment fee rates have seen only a slight cut, and an assessment says structural change remains limited despite intensifying competition. Discussions are also continuing on the use of new financial infrastructure such as STOs, and the broader fintech industry appears to be entering a phase of technology-based expansion.

• Hecto Financial seen posting record results as stablecoin scalability stands out • Hecto Wallet One presents a 'two-track' wallet adoption plan for payment gateway firms, supporting phased internalization • Kakao Pay marks 10 years of simple remittances; "447 trillion won has changed hands" • Electronic financial payment fee rates edge down slightly; fee-cut competition not yet in full swing • Korea Fintech Industry Association says it is reviewing use of public-sector STOs, sharing development gains and applying them to jeonse loans • Payple revamps wallet, introduces 'AI briefing card'

Financial authorities are strengthening a policy stance that combines support for the fintech industry with tighter financial discipline. The Financial Services Commission is pushing to revamp its support system to respond to fintech's AX transition, and it is seeking to ease interest-rate requirements for mid-interest loans and expand supply.

The Financial Supervisory Service has also introduced rules to restrict payment gateway firms from reselling virtual accounts, moving to manage the payments market. The Personal Information Protection Commission imposed an administrative fine on Lotte Card for violating customer information protection measures.

• FSC seeks to revamp support system in response to fintech AX transition • Personal Information Protection Commission fines Lotte Card 11.25 million won for violating CI safety measures • FSS introduces rules to regulate resales of payment gateway firms' virtual accounts; takes effect in July • FSC to cut mid-interest loan interest-rate requirements by up to 1.25 percentage points and expand supply

Other major moves in finance and fintech are summarized below.

KB Financial Group is speeding up expansion of platform finance and embedded finance by combining with other industries such as retail and healthcare. KB Asset Management surpassed 30 trillion won in net assets, strengthening market dominance on the back of ETF growth. KB Securities is also moving to diversify its investment portfolio by participating in a large real estate investment, as business expansion continues across affiliates.

• KB Kookmin Bank launches 'Sseuk KB Bank' with SSG.com, moving in earnest into platform finance • KB Kookmin Bank links financial functions to nursing facility ERP, expanding embedded finance • KB Asset Management's 'RISE ETF' net assets exceed 30 trillion won, up 47 percent so far this year • KB Securities consortium picked as preferred bidder to buy Homeplus Yeongdeungpo store

Commercial banks are also expanding businesses centered on partnerships and corporate finance. Shinhan Bank is strengthening card benefits through joint marketing, while Hana Bank is expanding financial support for partner companies, reinforcing industrial linkages. Woori Bank is increasing its presence in global project finance, including participation in arranging financing for a power plant in Ohio in the United States.

• Shinhan Bank launches joint marketing with Big Byte Company, "strengthening Nara Sarang Card benefits" • Hana Bank to provide 85 billion won in support for construction machinery partner firms with HD Hyundai Construction Equipment and the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund • Woori Bank joins arrangement of $825 million financing for Ohio power plant in the United States

Results are diverging between regional financial holding companies and internet banks. Three regional financial groups saw mixed profitability despite top-line growth, while K Bank continued to improve results on the back of expanding corporate loans.

Toss Bank moved to expand deposits by strengthening rate competitiveness, and Viva Republica's Toss is expanding platform-based services by broadening financial fraud prevention education for foreigners.

• Three regional financial groups show mixed first-quarter net profit despite 'top-line growth' • K Bank posts 33.2 billion won in first-quarter net profit, helped by expansion of corporate loans • Toss Bank raises rates on 'time deposits with interest paid first', up to 3.0 percent annually • Toss begins full rollout of financial fraud prevention education for foreigners with the Seoul Global Center

In the global fintech market, competition centered on AI and blockchain is spreading rapidly. Stripe has launched a digital wallet for AI agents. Fintech firm Mercury is speeding up the establishment of a U.S. bank, lowering barriers to entry into finance, while mergers and acquisitions among major big tech firms and financial companies also continue briskly.

As AI-based financial content spreads, the need to verify the authenticity of information is also growing, emerging as a new risk factor.

• Stripe launches 'Link' digital wallet for AI agents • Fintech firm 'Mercury' clears hurdle at the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, speeding up plans to establish its own bank • OpenAI, Kraken and AmEx join in; five picks for April global fintech M&A • AI-generated financial content spreads, increasing need for authenticity verification