Ripple Expands South Korean Footprint With Jeonbuk Bank Payments Deal

Ripple is strengthening its position in South Korea through a new partnership with Jeonbuk Bank aimed at speeding up cross-border remittances for businesses and other customers.

The agreement will see Jeonbuk Bank adopt Ripple Payments to provide around-the-clock international settlement. Transactions are expected to move from sender to recipient within seconds or minutes, offering a faster alternative to traditional SWIFT transfers, which can sometimes take several days.

The service will be made available to a range of Jeonbuk Bank customers, including importers and exporters, technology startups and digital content creators. By using Ripple Payments, the bank wants to make international transfers quicker and more efficient for businesses operating across borders.

Fiona Murray, Ripple's managing director for Asia Pacific, said regional banks are an important part of the economy and that Jeonbuk Bank's adoption of the company's payments infrastructure could help bring faster cross-border settlement directly to local businesses.

The deal also marks Ripple's third partnership in South Korea during 2026, highlighting the company's continued push into the country's financial sector.

Earlier this year, Ripple teamed up with Kyobo Life Insurance to explore tokenized government bond transactions using Ripple Custody. The company also began working with Kbank on a proof-of-concept involving blockchain-based cross-border transactions.

Ripple's expansion comes despite signs of weaker activity across South Korea's broader crypto market. Upbit and Bithumb, two of the country's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, reportedly recorded revenue declines of almost 50% during the first half of 2026.

The latest banking partnership shows that Ripple's strategy in the country extends beyond cryptocurrency trading. The company is increasingly targeting financial institutions and payment infrastructure, with blockchain technology being positioned as a tool for faster international settlement.

$XRP, Ripple's associated cryptocurrency, was trading slightly lower at the time of the announcement. The token had fallen about 0.7% over the previous 24 hours, according to The Block's $XRP price data.