KB Kookmin Bank to Launch Cross-Border Payment Service on JPMorgan's Kinexys Blockchain in August

KB Kookmin Bank, South Korea's largest lender with $552.76 billion in assets, will launch a blockchain-based cross-border payment service in August 2026. Operating on JPMorgan's Kinexys platform, the service will initially support U.S. dollar transactions for import and export businesses across 10 countries, including the U.S., Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. The system integrates with existing SWIFT rails to accelerate settlement times without using public crypto tokens.

KB Kookmin Bank Kinexys adoption

• ▪KB Kookmin Bank announced the Kinexys payment service on July 26, 2026, following a blockchain remittance agreement signed with JPMorgan
• ▪KB Kookmin Bank will launch a blockchain-based cross-border payment service for corporate import and export customers in August 2026
• ▪KB Kookmin Bank is the first South Korean financial institution to use JPMorgan's Kinexys platform for commercial payment services

Kinexys blockchain infrastructure

• ▪JPMorgan's Kinexys platform, formerly known as Onyx, is a permissioned blockchain that supports payments, tokenization, and near-real-time settlement
• ▪JPMorgan expanded Kinexys in June 2026 by introducing blockchain deposit accounts in Australian dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, and Singapore dollars
• ▪JPMorgan's Kinexys platform has processed more than $4 trillion in cumulative transaction volume, with average daily transactions exceeding $7 billion

Cross-border payment service features

• ▪The Kinexys payment service will integrate with existing SWIFT payment infrastructure rather than replacing it, allowing compliance procedures and payment messages to remain in place
• ▪The Kinexys payment service will be available at KB Kookmin Bank's domestic branches in South Korea and its Singapore branch
• ▪The Kinexys payment service will initially support U.S. dollar transactions across 10 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, India, Thailand, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and South Africa

South Korea blockchain financial initiatives

• ▪KB Kookmin Bank completed a $100 million digital bond issuance through HSBC's Orion platform in June 2026, which settled in three business days instead of five
• ▪KB Kookmin Card announced plans to develop a hybrid stablecoin credit card system using Avalanche and OpenAsset infrastructure
• ▪KB Kookmin Bank is participating in a South Korean government-backed tokenized deposit project selected by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to test public-sector spending in late 2026