The Bank of Korea said it launched the pilot run of the "BOK Won International Payment Network" at 9 a.m. that day.
The network is a settlement system that allows foreigners to trade won freely with other foreigners using accounts opened at banks in their home countries. The government earlier unveiled a "won internationalization roadmap" allowing foreigners to use the currency freely overseas, and the payment network is part of that push. After roughly three months of trial operations, the system will go into full service from January, running 24 hours a day except on weekends and public holidays.
Four commercial banks — KB Kookmin, Woori, Hana and Shinhan — are taking part in the pilot. Major foreign banks are set to join once full operations begin. At about 9:30 a.m., two domestic participating institutions conducted a test transaction worth about 1.4 billion won.
"With the establishment of the won international payment network, foreign investors can settle in won during their own business hours simply by opening an account at a registered foreign institution handling won business (RFI-K), rather than at a domestic financial institution," the BOK said. The central bank also expects foreigners' access to won settlement infrastructure to improve significantly, helping raise the currency's international standing.
