South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Customs Service have jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the country's nine largest credit card companies and the Credit Finance Association. The core goal is to cut off illegal currency exchange and fund transfers involving cryptocurrencies at the source.
According to MBC, the signatories include Shinhan Card, KB Kookmin Card, Woori Card, Lotte Card, Hana Card, Samsung Card, Hyundai Card, BC Card, and NongHyup Card. The Credit Finance Association will serve as the central information-sharing hub and operate regular practical coordination meetings.
Cross-Border Card and Entry-Exit Data Linked
The MOU's key breakthrough lies in data integration. Parties will cross-analyze overseas credit and debit card usage records with entry-exit data to identify abnormal transactions tied to voice phishing (Vishing) and crypto crimes. Previously, the customs service and card companies held information separately, creating gaps — suspects could spread spending across multiple cards to evade detection. The MOU breaks down these data silos, significantly boosting cross-institutional comparison capability.
The direct trigger for this cooperation was a recent case where the customs service cracked a crypto-linked illegal currency exchange scheme involving KRW 148.9 billion. Suspects received funds via WeChat Pay or AliPay abroad, purchased overseas crypto assets, then transferred them to Korean wallets and cashed out in won, bypassing official forex controls entirely.
U-Cards: Not Banned, but Monitored
The MOU's impact on “U-Cards” — stablecoin payment cards — has drawn the most attention from Korean crypto users. U-Cards allow users to load USDT or other dollar-pegged stablecoins and spend directly via Visa/Mastercard networks. Transactions convert stablecoins to fiat at market rates in real time for cross-border settlement, bypassing traditional banking forex channels. Compliant issuers include Ether.Fi, Bybit Card, and Bitget Card.
Because they circumvent traditional banking, U-Cards serve as a “gray” cross-border payment shortcut. The MOU specifically targets overseas card usage records — and U-Cards, operating under Visa/Mastercard, fall squarely under that category.
If a Korean resident's overseas U-Card spending significantly exceeds their declared income, or if transaction patterns frequently match crypto exchange activity, the system may flag them for further investigation. U-Cards themselves remain legal; the issue is whether they are used to evade Korean forex rules. Compliant users spending normally should not be affected, but high-value cross-border consumers may face official scrutiny going forward.