South Korea’s largest bank brings cross-border payments to Kinexys

KB Kookmin Bank will launch a blockchain-based cross-border payment service for import and export companies in August 2026.

The South Korean lender will use Kinexys by J.P. Morgan to support U.S. dollar payments across 10 countries.

The service will connect Kinexys with existing SWIFT payment rails. It will support near-real-time transfers and foreign exchange settlement throughout the day. Customers will access the service through KB Kookmin Bank’s domestic branches and its Singapore branch.

KB Kookmin becomes first Korean bank to use Kinexys

KB Kookmin Bank announced the service on July 26 after signing an agreement with J.P. Morgan on blockchain remittance services. According to Yonhap News Agency, it will become the first South Korean financial institution to use Kinexys for payment services aimed at import and export companies. The agreement focuses on faster cross-border remittances for businesses managing overseas trade, supplier payments and foreign exchange settlement needs.

The first phase will prioritise U.S. dollar transfers. The supported markets are South Korea, the U.S., Singapore, Saudi Arabia, India, Thailand, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and South Africa. The bank has not published customer fees, transaction limits or an exact August launch date.

Kinexys adds blockchain settlement to existing bank rails

J.P. Morgan describes Kinexys as a bank-led blockchain platform for payments, asset tokenisation and near-real-time settlement. The network operates around the clock and lets approved institutions move funds without waiting for traditional banking cut-off times. It was previously known as Onyx.

The KB service will not replace SWIFT. Instead, it will link Kinexys with the existing messaging and correspondent banking system. This model allows banks to use blockchain for faster movement and settlement while retaining established compliance checks, account structures and foreign exchange processes.

J.P. Morgan has expanded Kinexys across several markets. In June, the bank added blockchain deposit accounts in Australian dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan and Singapore dollars. It said the expansion created support for eight currencies and enabled 24/7 payments, programmable treasury operations and onchain foreign exchange.

Other banks have already used the platform for corporate payments. Qatar National Bank adopted Kinexys for U.S. dollar payments in 2025. The service allowed corporate transfers outside normal banking hours and reduced some settlement times to minutes.

KB expands its institutional blockchain activity

The payment launch follows several blockchain projects across KB Financial Group. In June, KB Kookmin Bank completed a $100 million digital bond sale through HSBC’s Orion platform. The two-year U.S. dollar bond settled in three business days, compared with five days under the earlier process.

KB Kookmin also participates in South Korea’s tokenised deposit work. The Ministry of Economy and Finance selected nine banks for a project linking tokenised deposits with government spending systems. The planned test will use programmable conditions and a shared record of public payments.

Meanwhile, KB Kookmin Card has been developing a payment system that links stablecoins with traditional credit. Crypto.news reported that the project uses Avalanche and OpenAsset infrastructure. The design aims to let users pay from stablecoin wallets while keeping standard card settlement for merchants.

Large banks move blockchain into live payment services

KB Financial Group ranked as South Korea’s largest lender by assets in S&P Global Market Intelligence’s 2026 Asia-Pacific bank review. The group placed 28th in the region with about $552.76 billion in assets. That scale gives the bank an established corporate network for introducing the new service.

The launch also adds to wider bank use of tokenised deposits and blockchain settlement. J.P. Morgan, Mastercard, Ripple and Ondo Finance tested a cross-border Treasury redemption in May. Kinexys handled the payment instructions and U.S. dollar settlement while the tokenised asset moved on the XRP Ledger.

J.P. Morgan has also used Kinexys with companies such as Axis Bank, Mitsubishi Corporation and EBANX. In July, EBANX said the platform reduced some internal cross-border transfers from more than 24 hours to minutes by removing local cut-off restrictions.

For KB Kookmin’s corporate clients, the main change will be access to longer operating hours and faster settlement across selected trade corridors. The bank has not said whether it will add more currencies or countries after the first phase. Its August rollout will show how the service works alongside existing SWIFT processes for commercial payments.