Hyundai Card and Hyundai Motor, both part of Hyundai Motor Group, have completed preparations to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers between overseas subsidiaries, bringing the technology to a level ready for immediate deployment in real business operations rather than laboratory testing.
Hyundai Card announced Thursday that it had successfully completed a first proof of concept (PoC) for stablecoin-based transfers between Hyundai Motor's US and Mexico subsidiaries, and that a second PoC targeting European subsidiaries is now underway.
The milestone is significant because it marks the first time a major global conglomerate has used stablecoins — previously confined to experimental use by select IT and fintech firms — as an actual invoicing and remittance tool between its own overseas units.
Hyundai Card said the PoC went beyond verifying the technology itself, replicating the full settlement and remittance processes that arise frequently in international business. To that end, Hyundai Card and Hyundai Motor conducted a comprehensive review of the accounting, tax, legal and internal-control regulations applicable to their overseas subsidiaries, and led the design of end-to-end process infrastructure covering transfer structures, methods and roles.
In the first PoC, Hyundai Motor America (HMA) converted $20,000 into the stablecoin USDT, transferred the funds to Hyundai Motor de Mexico (HMM), and converted them back into dollars. The entire process — including the transfer and verification — took an average of just seven minutes, against a minimum of three to four hours under conventional interbank transfer methods. Participants included Hyundai Card, Hyundai Motor's US and Mexico subsidiaries, dollar-backed stablecoin issuer Tether, blockchain technology firm Avalanche and blockchain-based payment infrastructure company Axiym.
The second PoC, set to begin later this month, will involve Hyundai Motor's European subsidiaries. It will conduct live transfers using local currencies in addition to the dollar and assess the practical economic benefits of stablecoin remittances, including cost efficiency in currency conversion. Global partners Circle and Visa will participate in the second round.
With the groundwork now laid for stablecoin use in actual intersubsidiary transfers, Hyundai Card plans to work with Hyundai Motor to explore expanding stablecoin applications across Hyundai Motor Group's global network, covering settlement, fund transfers and other financial operations among its overseas units worldwide.
"This PoC is meaningful because we have moved beyond simply verifying the technology and completed preparations to a level where actual deployment is possible," a Hyundai Card official said. "Going forward, we will explore and continue to expand a range of stablecoin-based businesses, including international remittance and payment infrastructure."
won@heraldcorp.com
