NHN KCP will take part with Shinhan Bank in the second phase of the Bank of Korea's central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot, Project Hangang. The companies plan to use NHN KCP's online and offline merchant network to expand deposit token payment testing to convenience stores, hypermarkets and online shopping malls.

NHN KCP said on July 27 it will jointly participate with Shinhan Bank in Project Hangang phase 2.

Shinhan Bank took part in the earlier first-phase live transaction test and operated a payment service using deposit tokens.

The second-phase project focuses on expanding where deposit tokens can be used and improving user experience.

NHN KCP and Shinhan Bank plan to apply deposit tokens in payment environments closely tied to daily life, including convenience stores, hypermarkets and online shopping malls.

Merchants can introduce deposit token payments through existing NHN KCP payment infrastructure without replacing terminals or overhauling systems. Shinhan Bank plans to expand the service in stages, starting with major merchants, and to secure real-world usage data.

The companies will also test ways to simplify payment processing procedures using smart contract technology and improve merchant operational efficiency and consumer payment convenience.

They also plan to review ways to manage how funds are used by leveraging NHN KCP's merchant network if subsidies from local governments or policy funds are paid out in the form of deposit tokens.

Jun-seok Park (박준석), CEO of NHN KCP, said, "We will implement payment services that merchants and consumers can feel."