Hyundai Card Outlines Next Steps for Avalanche Payments Pilot

Hyundai Card has outlined the next phase of its work with Avalanche, stating that its priority is proving the operation model behind its earlier proof of concept can function at scale.

The update, shared by avax on Sept. 16, 2026, centers on comments from Heejung Nam, Head of Payments and Business Development at Hyundai Card, who framed scaling as the deciding test for the initiative's economics.

"We have to prove the entire operation model works at scale," Nam said. "What happens if we can scale up? Then the economic model works."

Hyundai Card is the credit card subsidiary of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group, one of the country's largest financial services operations. The company completed a proof of concept with Avalanche earlier in 2026, according to the announcement. Hyundai Card did not disclose a timeline for the scale-up phase, nor did it specify which parts of its payments stack the pilot covered.

Korea's Onchain Momentum

The remarks land during a period of heightened Korean activity on Avalanche. BDACS-issued KRW1, described as Korea's first won-backed stablecoin on Avalanche, is integrating into Rain's payments rails to support won-denominated Visa cards globally, while Hanwha Investment & Securities has been building a tokenization platform on the network.

What to Watch

Nam's comments position scaling — not further testing — as the gate between pilot and production for Hyundai Card. Concrete milestones, including transaction volumes, a live launch date, or additional partners, have yet to be announced.