Key Takeaways
- Hyundai Card slashed cross-border payment times to 7 minutes in a $20,000 corporate stablecoin test.
- Tether, Avalanche, and Axiym backed the pilot, marking a historic first for the South Korean card industry.
- A second pilot launches later this month with Circle and Visa to test local currencies across European units.
Shaving Hours off Transaction Times
Hyundai Card successfully tested stablecoin-based cross-border payments between Hyundai Motor Group subsidiaries in North America, slashing transaction times from hours to minutes, the card issuer recently disclosed.
The proof-of-concept (PoC) test involved transferring funds between California-based Hyundai Motor America and Hyundai Motor Mexico. During the pilot, the U.S. unit converted $20,000 into dollar-based stablecoins and transmitted them to the Mexican affiliate, where the funds were converted back into greenbacks.
The transaction and verification process took seven minutes. Conventional international bank transfers typically take three to four hours, according to the company.
Hyundai Card, the payments arm of automotive giant Hyundai Motor Group, said the initiative marks the first time a South Korean credit card company has completed a real-world corporate remittance using digital stablecoins.
Stablecoin issuer Tether, blockchain network Avalanche, and digital payments infrastructure provider Axiym partnered with Hyundai Card for the pilot.
To clear regulatory hurdles, Hyundai Card worked with Hyundai Motor to audit accounting, tax, legal, and internal compliance frameworks across both international offices before executing the trade.
“This pilot is significant because it shows that we have moved beyond a simple technical test and completed preparations for potential real-world adoption,” a Hyundai Card official said in a statement.
A second phase of testing is scheduled to begin later this month, involving European subsidiaries of Hyundai Motor. That test will expand the network to include stablecoin issuer Circle and payments giant Visa.
The upcoming European pilot will also move beyond dollar-to-dollar transactions into local fiat currencies to better measure potential savings on foreign exchange fees and currency conversion costs.
