The Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute said it will support the financial sector’s AI transformation while reshaping its own organization around AI and moving to verify technology for an AI agent-based payment platform.
On May 3 (local time), the institute said it will build a companywide “AI agent” work environment so employees can use AI agents in day-to-day tasks to improve efficiency.
An AI agent refers to an intelligent system that goes beyond providing information by interpreting a user’s intent, making judgments and handling complex tasks. The institute said it aims to embed the technology in its operations to develop next-generation payment services that minimize human intervention.
To move faster on AI projects, it plans to establish new processes and accelerate a shift to an AI-centered organization, while significantly expanding programs to train AI specialists.
Externally, the institute said it will help raise the overall level of AI transformation across the financial industry by quickly forming a tentative “financial sector AX alliance” with major financial firms to standardize finance-focused AI technologies and share best practices.
It also plans a proof-of-concept for an “agent payment platform,” described as a key element of next-generation payment innovation. The technology would allow a conversational AI to handle the entire process — from product search to ordering and payment — in a single session without the consumer directly operating an app. The institute said it plans to begin the PoC within this year in cooperation with fintech partners.
The institute also said it is expanding its footprint in global payments by continuing to broaden a cross-border QR payment service network with major Asian countries including Indonesia, India and Vietnam.
By directly linking national clearing institutions, it expects cost savings of up to 2 percentage points per transaction compared with existing overseas payment methods, accelerating efforts to improve user benefits.
Under existing overseas payment services, domestic payment providers settle with overseas merchants through double currency conversion — won to U.S. dollars, then dollars to local currency — resulting in overlapping exchange fees. The institute began two-way inbound and outbound QR payment services with Indonesia on April 1.
It said the cross-border QR payment infrastructure will be operated as an open platform available to banks, card companies and fintech firms. Shinhan, Woori and Hana banks; Shinhan Card and KB Kookmin Card; and providers including GLN and Travel Wallet are expected to join within this year, and talks are also underway with major big tech companies.
Cooperation in payment and settlement also strengthened following the president’s April trips to India and Vietnam. The institute signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s National Payments Corporation of India, or NPCI, and a service contract with Vietnam’s NAPAS, and said it will launch QR payment services with both countries within this year.
The institute said it plans to keep expanding the network, focusing on Asian countries where QR payments are widely used, including Singapore and Thailand, to improve customer convenience and support overseas expansion by South Korean financial firms.
Speaking at a meeting with accompanying reporters in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where the 59th Asian Development Bank annual meeting was held, institute head Chae said, “We are pushing cross-border payment services with ambition.” He added, “In Southeast Asia and Central Asia, QR payments are far more common than cards, so we are promoting QR services centered on countries that many of our people travel to.”
Chae said, “If pay companies provide QR services, they have to use overseas networks, so usage fees occur,” adding, “If it goes through the institute, those fees disappear.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.