The era in which consumers pay for goods at neighborhood stores with virtual assets (stablecoins) stored on smartphones is just around the corner.

Digital asset payments specialist BEATOZ announced on the 26th that it has successfully completed a proof of concept (PoC) for a technology that enables direct payment with virtual assets on commonly used in-store POS (point-of-sale) terminals, in partnership with payment network (VAN·PG) company KOVAN and IT services company RINGNET.

The Crypto Payment Gateway (CPG), jointly developed by BEATOZ and RINGNET, is a system that allows users to make payments with their digital assets regardless of the type of blockchain. Complex coin exchanges and payment route configurations are handled automatically on the backend, enabling convenient use not only in online apps but also at offline stores in the same way as card payments.

The PoC focused on verifying whether offline payments operate smoothly in an actual merchant environment. When a payment is requested from the store’s POS terminal, the consumer approves it via a smartphone wallet app, and CPG simultaneously processes the transaction details on both the existing financial network and the blockchain network. The three companies confirmed that this entire process operates stably.

The outcome is significant in that it demonstrates the real commercial viability of stablecoin payments at ordinary retail locations. The three companies plan to consider applying the service to approximately 100,000 domestic merchants that use KOVAN’s payment infrastructure. Having already completed online-focused payment verification with Jeonbuk Bank and Modetour, BEATOZ has now fully expanded its demonstration scope to the offline domain.

In addition, based on their achievements in Korea, the three companies are exploring entry into global markets such as Thailand. Leveraging the infrastructure of KOVAN’s Thai subsidiary, which is the first local entity established overseas by a Korean VAN company, they plan to introduce digital asset payment services overseas by linking CPG to existing payment networks.

Yang Won-gi, CEO of KOVAN, said, “Having proven the feasibility of stablecoin payments in existing terminal environments, we will also seek to expand into overseas markets such as Thailand.” RINGNET CEO Lee Jung-min stated, “We will contribute to the expansion of digital finance through stable IT infrastructure integration technology.” Lee Sang-kuk, head of BEATOZ’s Korea office, emphasized, “We will continue to expand digital asset payment infrastructure that covers both online and offline channels.”

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