The South Korean cross-border remittance market is undergoing structural changes. Local media, citing data from the Office of Parliamentarians, claim that encrypted cross-border remittances processed by the five Koreas won exchange have increased significantly faster than traditional banks over the past three years, which has also prompted banks to speed up the deployment of stable currency and block chain payment services.

Exchange remittances are growing faster.

The data show that the number of encrypted cross-border remittances by the Korea Five Korean Won Exchanges increased from 34.02 trillion won in 2022 to 163.55 trillion won last year, with a cumulative increase of 380 per cent over three years.

In contrast, the size of foreign exchange remittances by the five leading commercial banks in Korea increased from about $1.00 trillion in 2022 to $1.10 trillion in 2025. At the average annual rate of exchange, approximately 1318 trillion won increased to 1590 trillion won, an increase of about 20 per cent over three years.

  • Encrypted cross-border remittances: 34.02 trillion won to 163.55 trillion won
  • Bank foreign exchange remittances: approximately 1318 trillion won to 1590 trillion won
  • The two: encryption channels are increasing at a significantly faster rate than banking channels

Discrepancies in fees drive the shift

The report cites Hwang Seok-jin, a professor at the Graduate School of International Information Protection of the University of the East, as saying that lower transaction costs may be one of the important reasons why users are turning to encrypted platforms.

In the case of a $20 million cross-border transfer of about 30 million won through commercial banks, the transaction fee is approximately 25,000 won; if the equivalent of bitcoin is transferred through the local Korean encrypted exchange, the cost is approximately 19 million won, regardless of the amount transferred.

Banks are moving in step with the new rules.

As the demand for digital asset transfers rises, Korean financial institutions are accelerating the distribution of block payment infrastructure. Toss Bank has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Solana Foundation, which includes international remittances. Discussions have also taken place between the New Korea Financial Group and the Korean Enterprise Bank on stabilization currency and digital asset payments.

At the regulatory level, the Korean Government published amendments to the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act on 2 June with Cabinet approval. The new regulations will enter into force in December after a six-month grace period and will formalize the regulatory framework for virtual cross-border transfers of assets.

Under the new system, enterprises providing cross-border digital asset transfer services are required to register with the Korean Ministry of Enterprise Finance and to report overseas transfers through the Korea Bank ' s foreign exchange declaration network.

Additional information:The regulator is also assessing whether FST can enter the market with existing virtual asset service providers, and the final implementation rules will affect the scope of subsequent access.