Dunamu, Visa explore stablecoin payments and AI

Dunamu, the operator of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, announced on Aug. 28 that it had formed a strategic partnership with Visa to explore stablecoin payments, international remittances and AI-driven financial services.

Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok and Visa Global President Oliver Jenkyn presented the partnership roadmap at Visa’s Global Market Support Center in San Francisco on Aug. 26 local time. Visa Worldwide Pte. Limited, the payment company’s Asia-Pacific entity, signed the agreement with Dunamu before the event.

The partnership is confirmed, but the proposed services remain exploratory. The companies have not selected a launch date, blockchain, stablecoin, custody provider, settlement process or initial market.

Dunamu and Visa will study stablecoin payment models

The companies intend to combine Dunamu’s digital-asset infrastructure with Visa’s global payment network. Their stated areas of research include stablecoin payments, global transfers, merchant settlement and new user experiences.

The partners said services would be developed in stages while considering applicable laws and regulatory requirements. That wording means the agreement does not yet constitute a product launch or a commitment to offer stablecoin payments through Upbit.

Dunamu said stability, transparency, interoperability and regulatory compliance would guide the work. However, it did not identify how those principles would be implemented or which company would manage customer assets and compliance duties.

Visa has already expanded its stablecoin settlement and programmable payment work. In June, the company announced new infrastructure for stablecoins, tokenized deposits and AI-directed transactions.

OUSD returns as a possible partnership component

Dunamu and Visa will also evaluate business models involving Open USD, or OUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin developed through the Open Standard initiative.

Open Standard says OUSD is intended for global payments and will let participating businesses mint and redeem tokens without fees or artificial volume limits. The initiative has named Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, BlackRock and more than 140 other organizations as supporters.

Dunamu’s role requires careful framing. In July, the company said it had not agreed to issue OUSD or formally participate in its launch after being listed among Open Standard’s associated businesses.

As crypto.news reported, Dunamu described its Open Standard participation as a proposal it was still reviewing. The new Visa partnership confirms that both companies will examine OUSD-based models, but it still does not establish Dunamu as an issuer or operator.

AI research will include agentic commerce

The partnership also covers payment infrastructure for agentic commerce. In this model, an AI system searches for products, selects services and executes payments on a user’s behalf.

Dunamu and Visa said they would examine technology supporting authorization, payments and settlement for these transactions. They did not explain how users would approve purchases, establish spending limits or dispute an AI-initiated transaction.

Those controls are important because automated purchasing creates new questions involving identity, fraud, liability and consent. Stablecoin settlement can also be irreversible once tokens are transferred on-chain.

Visa has been developing tools for verifying AI agents and giving merchants more control over automated transactions. The Dunamu partnership could connect that work with digital-asset settlement, although no technical integration has been announced.

South Korean rules will determine what launches

South Korea has not completed its broader stablecoin framework. Lawmakers and regulators are still debating who may issue won-backed tokens and whether bank ownership should be required.

Dollar stablecoin payment and remittance services could also engage South Korea’s foreign-exchange, anti-money-laundering and virtual-asset rules. Dunamu acknowledged that regulatory requirements would affect how the partnership develops.

In related coverage, South Korean companies have expanded stablecoin payment trials while awaiting national legislation. Dunamu has also discussed separate stablecoin infrastructure work with domestic technology and financial companies.

The next verifiable milestone will be a defined pilot or product announcement. The companies would need to disclose the stablecoin, supported markets, blockchain, custody structure and customer eligibility before users can assess the service.

Until then, the partnership establishes a joint research and business-development framework rather than an operational payment product.