The partnership was announced on Aug. 28. Dunamu runs Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange. Visa’s Asia-Pacific entity signed the agreement before a meeting at Visa’s Global Market Support Center in San Francisco on Aug. 26.
The two companies have not selected a blockchain, a specific stablecoin, or a launch market. They have also not named a custody provider or settlement process. This is still research.
What the partnership covers
Dunamu and Visa plan to study stablecoin payments, international remittances, merchant settlement, and new user experiences. The idea is to connect Dunamu’s digital-asset infrastructure with Visa’s payment network. Both companies say services would be built in stages, while following applicable regulations. That language suggests no product launch is confirmed yet.
The agreement does not commit Dunamu to offering stablecoin payments through Upbit. It also does not explain how customer assets would be held or who would handle compliance.
OUSD remains a question
The partnership may include OUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin from the Open Standard initiative. Open Standard says OUSD is meant for global payments, with no fees or artificial volume limits for businesses that mint and redeem tokens. The initiative lists Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, BlackRock, and more than 140 other organizations as supporters.
Dunamu’s role in OUSD is not settled. In July, the company said it had not agreed to issue OUSD or formally join its launch, despite being listed among related businesses. The new Visa agreement confirms both companies will review OUSD-based models, but it still does not make Dunamu an issuer.
AI-driven commerce and payments
The partnership also covers agentic commerce. In that model, an AI system searches for products, chooses services, and executes payments for a user. Dunamu and Visa say they will examine technology for authorization, payments, and settlement in these transactions.
They have not described how users would approve purchases, set spending limits, or dispute an AI-initiated transaction. Those controls matter because automated payments create new questions around identity, fraud, liability, and consent. Stablecoin settlement can also be irreversible once tokens move on-chain. Visa has been developing tools for verifying AI agents and giving merchants more control over automated transactions. The Dunamu partnership could tie that work to digital-asset settlement, but no technical integration has been announced.
South Korean regulation will decide
South Korea’s stablecoin rules are still incomplete. Lawmakers and regulators are debating who can issue won-backed tokens and whether banks must own them. Dollar stablecoin payment and remittance services could also trigger foreign-exchange, anti-money-laundering, and virtual-asset rules. Dunamu acknowledged that regulatory requirements will shape the partnership.
The next verifiable milestone would be a defined pilot or product announcement. Until then, this is a joint research and business-development arrangement, not an operational payment product.
