Danal Becomes First Korean Payment Company to Join Circle’s Official Partner Program 'CAP'

On December 18, Danal announced that it has joined the Circle Alliance Program (CAP) of stablecoin issuer Circle and will begin building next-generation USDC-based payment infrastructure.

Earlier this year, the two companies held an informal meeting to discuss close cooperation on stablecoin services in the Korean market. Notable collaborations include the operation of Circle Mint, Circle's stablecoin minting service, and the use of the USCD blockchain network Arc. They have already completed tests for USDC issuance, burning, and remittance in a sandbox environment.

Recently, Danal became the first domestic payment company to be recognized as a CAP partner, having finalized the agreement, and has been listed as a partner on Circle’s official website. With active discussions underway regarding the institutionalization of stablecoins in Korea, the two companies plan to pursue strategic collaboration to overcome structural limitations in the existing payment market-such as high fee structures, complex intermediary networks, and settlement delays-and to establish a more efficient and globally compatible payment standard.

Through CAP, Danal will prioritize the review of domestic USDC payment infrastructure to ensure stable operation within a legal framework. In particular, the company plans to focus on analyzing areas that have been difficult to address with existing systems, such as a model that reduces intermediary institutions to lower transaction and exchange costs, and a global payment structure that unifies payment networks across regions and countries. The first service to adopt this will be Danal’s prepaid card for foreigners, K.ONDA.

Additionally, the two companies will verify the development of a real-time payment and settlement structure. To apply 'instant settlement,' one of the key advantages of on-chain payments, to actual merchant operations, Danal’s domestic payment infrastructure will be combined with Circle’s global payment network to jointly design a real-time settlement model. If implemented, this model is expected to minimize delays between payment requests and settlements, thereby enhancing cash flow stability for merchants.

The companies are also exploring strategies to expand into emerging markets beyond core stablecoin countries. By combining USDC, the standard stablecoin, with Danal’s global payment network, they aim to overcome cross-border payment barriers, improve accessibility for local merchants, and provide a variety of payment options.

A Danal representative stated, “The collaboration between Danal, which has a clear understanding of domestic and international markets and regulatory environments as well as relevant service experience, and Circle, a leading global stablecoin issuer, will be the starting point for establishing a Korea-centered stablecoin payment standard. We will thoroughly validate the construction of a highly efficient, real-time, global payment infrastructure to secure technological leadership in the next-generation digital payment market at the center of change.”