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The Bank of Korea, the central bank of South Korea, has partnered with Samsung to jointly conduct research on offline central bank digital currency (CBDC), as per an official statement released on May 15.
Samsung was involved in the Bank of Korea’s “CBDC simulation study” during the previous year. As part of this study, Samsung developed a technology allowing offline CBDC payments through near-field communication (NFC). This technology enables users to send and receive CBDC payments without requiring an internet connection.
Under the new collaboration, the Bank of Korea plans to leverage Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and watches to facilitate offline CBDC payments. The utilization of Samsung devices is expected to enhance the security of offline transactions, given that they are equipped with a Secure Element (eSE) chipset.
This chipset has achieved a hardware certification of EAL (Evaluation Assurance Level) 6+ grade in accordance with the international security evaluation standard CC (Common Criteria), as confirmed by Samsung.
Additionally, Samsung and the Bank of Korea will continue their joint research on stable payment systems that can operate effectively even during natural disasters when internet connectivity is unavailable.
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Lee Seung-heon, Vice President of the Bank of Korea, expressed the significance of this achievement, stating, “It is very meaningful that we, as a central bank, have collaborated with Samsung Electronics to develop offline CBDC technology for the first time. I eagerly anticipate its implementation.”
Choi Won-joon, Vice President of Development of Samsung Electronics’ MX Business Division, highlighted the integration of Samsung’s advanced security technology into the realm of digital currency, stating,:
“Through our collaboration with the Bank of Korea, we have been able to apply Samsung Electronics’ cutting-edge security technology to the field of digital currency. We anticipate making a substantial contribution to the advancement of CBDC technology.”
This recent collaboration follows Bank of Korea governor Rhee Chang-yong’s statement in December 2022 expressing skepticism about the benefits of CBDCs, following the turbulence witnessed in the cryptocurrency market that year.