Bank of Korea launches 24-hour won settlement pilot

The Bank of Korea launched a pilot 24-hour won settlement network on Monday to allow foreign investors to settle won transactions outside South Korea’s normal banking hours. The trial involves KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank and Shinhan Bank. Full operations are scheduled for January 2027, when additional domestic and foreign institutions are expected to join.

The network will operate 24 hours a day on weekdays, excluding weekends and Korean public holidays. Foreign investors will be able to settle won trades during business hours in their home countries by using accounts held by Registered Foreign Institutions for KRW Business (RFI-Ks), eliminating the need to open conventional onshore accounts with South Korean banks.

The pilot began with four large domestic lenders so the central bank can test system connectivity and operational procedures. The Bank of Korea expects to expand participation to more South Korean financial institutions and overseas banks during the testing phase ahead of the planned January 2027 launch.

The Bank of Korea stated the network aims to improve overseas investors’ access to won settlement infrastructure and to support wider international use of the currency. Operating hours are intended to cover most global market time zones on weekdays, with settlement paused on Korean public holidays.

The new settlement network builds on earlier experiments with tokenized and digital-liability settlement systems. The Bank of Korea participated in Project Agorá, a Bank for International Settlements-led effort that completed real-value cross-border payment trials using tokenized central bank reserves and tokenized commercial bank deposits, including the won. Domestically, Project Hangang is a blockchain-based pilot that uses a wholesale central bank digital currency to settle tokenized commercial bank deposits.

The central bank plans further tests of tokenized instruments, including a scheduled trial of tokenized government bonds with CBDC in 2027. The Bank of Korea expects RFI-K accounts to streamline access for overseas asset managers and other foreign institutions by allowing clearing of won transactions without maintaining traditional onshore accounts.

Trial operations will continue over the coming months as authorities and participating banks test operational readiness and expand connectivity ahead of the full launch in January 2027.