Seoul-headquartered credit card company Hyundai Card, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, has completed a proof of concept ( PoC ) using stablecoins to transfer funds between Hyundai Motor America and Hyundai Motor Mexico, and will proceed with a second PoC between Hyundai Motor’s European entities.

This PoC, the card firm notes, is significant in that stablecoins, which have largely been tested by IT and fintech companies, were used as an actual remittance method for intercompany billing between overseas entities of Hyundai Motor, one of South Korea’s leading corporations.

The PoC went beyond merely verifying advanced technology, the company explains, and it was conducted as an actual remittance for settlement processes that frequently occur in international business, while also establishing a comprehensive infrastructure design to anticipate and address potential issues throughout the transfer process.

To enable stablecoin-based remittances between overseas entities, the company worked with Hyundai Motor to comprehensively review accounting, tax, legal, internal control and regulatory requirements for overseas entities. It also led the PoC by designing the remittance structure, process, roles and overall operating framework.

The first PoC was carried out by converting US$20,000 from Hyundai Motor America into the stablecoin USDT, transferring it to Hyundai Motor Mexico, and then converting it back into US dollars. The entire process, including cross-border transfer and verification took an average of seven minutes, demonstrating outstanding speed and stability compared with traditional interbank transfers that typically take more than three to four hours.

The first PoC involved Hyundai Card, Hyundai Motor America, Hyundai Motor Mexico, Tether, the issuer of the US dollar-backed stablecoin USDT, blockchain technology company Avalanche and blockchain-based payment infrastructure company Axiym.

The second PoC, scheduled to begin later this month, will be conducted between Hyundai Motor’s overseas entities in Europe. This PoC will involve actual remittances based on local currencies other than the US dollar and will verify the economic benefits of blockchain-based stablecoin transfers from a broader perspective, including cost efficiency in the foreign exchange process. Global partners, including Circle and Visa, will participate in the second PoC.

Building on this PoC, Hyundai Card plans to continue working with Hyundai Motor to explore the scalability of stablecoins across various areas, including settlements and fund transfers among Hyundai Motor Group’s overseas entities around the world.

“This PoC is meaningful because it goes beyond a simple technology test and demonstrates that we have completed preparations at a level that could support real-world deployment,” a Hyundai Card official adds. “We will continue to explore and expand various business opportunities using stablecoins, including cross-border remittance and payment infrastructure.”