• Jeonbuk becomes South Korea’s first regional bank using Ripple Payments infrastructure.
• Ripple targets faster 24/7 cross-border payments for Korean business customers.
• Ripple’s Korea expansion grows while XRP settlement details remain unconfirmed.

South Korea’s Jeonbuk Bank has partnered with Ripple to modernize cross-border payments for business customers. The deal makes Jeonbuk the country’s first regional bank to deploy Ripple Payments, replacing slower correspondent banking processes with near real-time settlement that operates around the clock.

Jeonbuk Bank Brings Faster Cross-Border Payments to Businesses

Ripple announced the partnership on August 18, describing it as another step in its expanding institutional strategy across South Korea. The service targets businesses that regularly send money abroad, including import-export firms, technology startups, and online content creators.

Traditional international transfers often pass through several intermediary banks using the SWIFT network. As a result, payments can take several days before reaching recipients.

Ripple Payments aims to significantly shorten that process. According to the company, transfers can settle within seconds to minutes and remain available 24 hours a day.

Ripple’s Asia Pacific Managing Director Fiona Murray said regional banks play an important role in South Korea’s economy. She added that the partnership reflects growing institutional interest in digital asset infrastructure across the country’s financial sector.

Jeonbuk Bank President Park Choon-won said the agreement supports the bank’s ambition to strengthen its position in digital finance. However, the bank has not shared expected transaction volumes or customer adoption targets.

Jeonbuk Bank is the first regional bank in Korea to deploy Ripple Payments, replacing multi-day SWIFT transfers with near real-time, 24/7 cross-border settlement for its business customers. Our third Korean partnership this year, after Kyobo Life Insurance and Kbank, partnering…

— Ripple (@Ripple) August 18, 2026

Ripple Builds Korean Banking Presence as XRP Settlement Details Stay Unclear 

The Jeonbuk agreement marks Ripple’s third South Korean financial partnership during 2026. 

Earlier this year, the company partnered with Kbank on institutional wallet infrastructure through Ripple Custody. It also worked with Kyobo Life Insurance on a tokenized government bond settlement initiative.

Together, those partnerships cover payments, custody, and tokenized financial assets instead of focusing on a single blockchain service.

Despite the announcement, several implementation details remain undisclosed. Ripple and Jeonbuk Bank have not confirmed when customers will gain access to the service. They also have not identified supported payment corridors, currencies, transaction fees, or settlement volumes.

Importantly, the companies did not confirm whether transfers will use XRP, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, another digital asset, or fiat-based settlement rails.

That distinction matters because Ripple Payments can support different settlement methods depending on regulatory requirements and payment corridors. The partnership strengthens Ripple’s position in South Korea’s banking sector. However, its impact on XRP demand remains unclear until settlement details are confirmed.