Visa and Upbit Parent Dunamu Explore Stablecoin Payments…

Visa and Dunamu, the company that owns South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, have agreed to jointly examine stablecoin payments, cross-border remittances and AI-enabled financial services. The tie-up follows a meeting on August 26 between Dunamu chief executive Oh Kyung-seok and Visa Global President Oliver Jenkyn at Visa's Global Market Support Center in San Francisco, the two firms said.

The stated aim is to find ways to link digital assets with Visa's existing payment rails. Neither company has announced a commercial product or a launch date, and both said any services would be rolled out in phases with attention to applicable laws and regulatory requirements.

Stablecoins and the OUSD question

Under the agreement, Dunamu and Visa will look at stablecoin payment services, cross-border transfers and settlement models in major markets, and assess how digital currencies might fit alongside traditional financial infrastructure. Open USD (OUSD), a dollar-backed stablecoin, will feature in those talks, with the partners planning to evaluate business models and applications tied to the token.

The mention of OUSD follows scrutiny of Dunamu's links to the project. In July, Upbit denied any role in issuing OUSD after Dunamu appeared among companies connected to the Open Standard initiative; Dunamu said at the time that its involvement was limited to reviewing possible participation in the broader ecosystem. The new announcement does not mean OUSD would power a Visa-Dunamu payment product — it is only one of the models the partners intend to study.

Alongside stablecoins, the two firms will explore AI-driven commerce, including systems that can locate goods or services and complete payments on a user's behalf, plus the infrastructure such transactions would require. Stability, transparency, interoperability and regulatory compliance were cited as guiding considerations.

The move comes as South Korean firms deepen their interest in stablecoin and AI payment infrastructure. Dunamu already works with Samsung SDS on digital assets and AI-based payment services, while Visa has partnered with Shinhan Financial Group to study stablecoin payments in the country. Elsewhere, Circle has teamed up with Kakao and Toss Bank on stablecoin payment infrastructure, and Visa has broadened its global stablecoin push through a partnership with zerohash covering stablecoin funding and payouts via Visa Direct.

For investors, the Dunamu deal remains exploratory: the companies have not specified which products, markets or stablecoins could ultimately emerge.