Dunamu, the operator of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, said on August 28 that it had entered a strategic partnership with Visa to explore financial and payment services built around stablecoins and artificial intelligence. The collaboration is still exploratory: the companies have not finalised a product, launch structure or timetable, according to reports on the announcement.
The proposed work would bring together Dunamu’s digital-asset technology and Visa’s payments network. It places the Upbit operator alongside a card-network giant that has separately set out plans for both AI-led commerce and stablecoin settlement infrastructure.
Exploratory partnership
MoneyToday reported that Dunamu announced a strategic partnership with Visa to explore stablecoin- and AI-based financial and payment services. The partnership is an exploratory framework, rather than a confirmed commercial rollout, giving the companies a basis to assess potential services that combine Dunamu’s digital-asset technology with Visa’s global payments network in major markets. No specific product has been publicly identified, and no service launch date has been set.
Payments, remittances and settlement
The potential scope includes stablecoin-linked payments, global remittances, settlement services and related customer experiences. News1 Korea reported that the companies will examine those areas while combining Dunamu’s digital-asset technology with Visa’s global payments network.
Payments, remittances and settlement refer to distinct stages of moving value. A customer-facing payment service concerns the purchase itself; remittances concern transfers across borders; and settlement concerns how obligations between participants are completed. The partners have indicated interest across all three, but have not disclosed how they would be configured in a potential service.
The reference to related user experiences also leaves room for work beyond back-end settlement. However, neither company has announced supported markets, participating merchants, customer eligibility or the particular stablecoin rails that might be used. Those details will determine the practical form of any eventual offering.
Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok and Visa Global President Oliver Jenkyn after presenting the strategic partnership roadmap in San Francisco. — Source: News1 Korea / Dunamu
OUSD remains under consideration
One named option is Open Standard’s dollar stablecoin, OUSD. Dunamu and Visa are considering business models that could use OUSD alongside broader stablecoin options, The Block reported.
OUSD’s inclusion does not represent a selection decision: the companies have not finalised a specific asset, product structure or launch date. It remains one possible component of a wider stablecoin evaluation, not the confirmed basis of a service.
That open approach is consistent with the breadth of the proposed partnership. Different payment and settlement applications could require different operational choices, and the public announcement does not specify whether the parties will ultimately pursue one stablecoin, several options or no particular model.
Agentic commerce connection
Agentic commerce is part of the partnership: AI systems would search for products or services and complete purchases and payments on a user’s behalf.
Visa said in June that its Intelligent Commerce platform is designed to let AI agents securely discover, initiate and complete transactions. Its 2026 roadmap includes stablecoin settlement infrastructure.
Read together, those stated initiatives place Dunamu’s exploration alongside two parts of Visa’s strategy: AI-agent payment capabilities and stablecoin settlement. For Dunamu, the collaboration brings its digital-asset infrastructure into that wider payment-network discussion.
But the announcement has not settled the practical design. The asset, product structure and launch model remain unresolved, so no specific consumer checkout product, settlement service or other outcome has been finalized.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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