Bank of Korea Reveals Results of Tokenized Deposit Testing

The central bank of South Korea reported that transactions were conducted in real-time. The pilot project involved 28 central banks and international financial organizations. Participants from South Korea were KB Kookmin Bank, NH NongHyup Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, and Hana Bank.

The entire process, from payment instructions to final settlement, took an average of one minute and 20 seconds. Final settlement took an average of 80 seconds. During testing, participants conducted 30 transactions across 17 different scenarios, including corporate and interbank money transfers. Settlements were carried out in six currencies, including the Korean won, US dollar, and euro. The total transaction value reached about 800,000 Swiss francs ($995,000).

The central bank stated that the platform operated stably throughout the trial, despite working in an environment only partially connected to the existing banking infrastructure. Even with limited compatibility with payment networks and banking computer systems, settlements with tokenized deposits were conducted seamlessly, quickly, and transparently, assured the central bank.

The central bank also conducted an internal transfer of 20 million won ($13,890) between two local banks, NH NongHyup Bank and Shinhan Bank. The entire process—sending payment instructions, issuing, transferring, and redeeming tokens—went through the Project Agora platform. The transaction involved manually connecting Project Hangang, the Bank of Korea's wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) launch platform, to the central bank's existing network to test compatibility.

Additionally, South Korea's KB Kookmin Bank and Japan's MUFG Bank completed testing of payments using deposit tokens. These tokens are digital certificates issued by banks within the pilot project but are not directly issued by the central bank. The Bank of Korea plans to continue testing payments with deposit tokens.

Last year, South Korean authorities pledged to tighten regulation of won-based stablecoins—their launch requires approval from the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission (FSC).