South Korea's Jeonbuk Bank partnered with blockchain firm Ripple to deploy Ripple Payments for international remittances, the enterprise technology firm said on August 18. The integration makes Jeonbuk Bank the first regional lender in South Korea to use the platform for cross-border processing.

South Korea's regional banking sector is accelerating its push into digital asset infrastructure as lenders compete to offer faster clearing options for local corporate clients operating in global markets.

Traditional bank transfers pass through multiple correspondent banks via the SWIFT network and take days to settle. The new system operates 24/7 and settles transactions in seconds to minutes. Jeonbuk Bank will offer the service to international corporate customers, including import-export firms, technology startups, and online content creators.

"This partnership with Jeonbuk Bank reflects the growing momentum we are seeing across Korea's institutional financial sector," said Fiona Murray, Asia Pacific Managing Director at Ripple. "Regional banks play a vital role in the real economy. As the first regional bank in Korea to deploy Ripple Payments, Jeonbuk Bank is extending near real-time cross-border settlement directly to the businesses it serves."

"With this partnership with Ripple, JB Jeonbuk Bank is ready to move beyond its role as a regional bank and emerge as a digital finance leader that meets global standards," said Park Choon-won, President of JB Jeonbuk Bank. "This partnership will become a new growth engine for the bank."

The agreement follows other institutional deals for Ripple in South Korea in 2026. Kyobo Life Insurance partnered with the firm to explore on-chain government bond settlement, while internet-only lender Kbank deployed institutional wallet infrastructure through Ripple Custody.