Visa has teamed up with Dunamu, the company behind South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, to explore stablecoin payments, global remittances and AI-powered financial services. The companies announced the partnership after Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok and Visa Global President Oliver Jenkyn met at Visa’s Global Market Support Center in San Francisco on August 26. Their work will focus on possible ways to connect digital assets with Visa’s existing payment infrastructure.

Although the companies have not announced a commercial product or launch date, they said potential services would be developed in stages while taking relevant laws and regulatory requirements into account.

Stablecoins Move Into Focus

As part of the agreement, Dunamu and Visa will examine stablecoin payment services, cross-border transfers and settlement models in major markets, while also assessing how digital currencies could interact with existing financial infrastructure. Open USD, or OUSD, will feature in those discussions, with the companies planning to assess business models and potential applications involving the dollar-backed stablecoin as they explore new digital asset payment services.

The focus on OUSD comes after Dunamu faced questions over its connection to the project. In July, Upbit denied involvement in issuing OUSD after Dunamu appeared among companies associated with the Open Standard initiative. Dunamu said its involvement related to reviewing possible participation in the wider ecosystem. The latest announcement does not indicate that OUSD will power a future Visa-Dunamu payment product, as the companies have only identified it as one of the business models they will assess during the partnership.

Investor Takeaway

Visa’s partnership with Dunamu could strengthen its position in stablecoin payments, while giving Upbit’s parent access to a global payments network and new markets.

AI Adds Another Layer

Alongside stablecoin payments, the companies will explore AI-driven commerce, including systems capable of finding products or services and completing payments on behalf of users. Their work will cover the infrastructure needed to support such transactions and how AI could operate alongside stablecoin payment and settlement systems. Dunamu and Visa said stability, transparency, interoperability, and regulatory compliance will remain considerations as they develop potential services.

The partnership comes as South Korean companies expand their interest in stablecoin infrastructure and AI-based payments, with Dunamu already working with Samsung SDS on digital assets and AI-driven payment services. Visa has also been building relationships in the country’s developing stablecoin market through its partnership with Shinhan Financial Group to explore stablecoin payments and financial services.

Elsewhere in the sector, Circle has partnered with Kakao and Toss Bank to explore stablecoin payment infrastructure in South Korea, while Visa has expanded its global stablecoin efforts through a partnership with zerohash to support stablecoin funding and payouts through Visa Direct. The Dunamu agreement therefore remains an exploration of potential services rather than a commercial launch, with the two companies yet to specify which products, markets, or stablecoins could eventually emerge from their work.

Investor Takeaway

The AI commerce push could give stablecoins another real-world use case, but investors will need to watch for an actual product and clear path to commercial adoption.