LG CNS said on the 22nd that, together with the Bank of Korea, it conducted Korea's first pilot of an "agentic AI-based digital currency automatic payment system," in which artificial intelligence (AI) performs everything from product search to purchase decisions and payment.
The pilot is part of "Project Hangang," which the Bank of Korea has been carrying out since last year. The goal is to implement next-generation payment infrastructure in which AI autonomously performs the entire commerce process by using a digital currency platform where deposit tokens (a tokenized form of bank deposits) circulate.
In this pilot, LG CNS and the Bank of Korea set a digital content creator as a virtual persona and assumed a real commerce environment in which the creator purchases content sources across multiple platforms for production. Based on this, they implemented an automated scenario in which an AI agent performs product search, comparison, and purchase decisions.
The agentic AI-based digital currency automatic payment system automatically searches for and compares the content sources needed by the creator, decides on purchases, and, within preset conditions, completes payment with digital currency by receiving delegated authority from the user. LG CNS said creators can focus on content production without complicated purchase procedures.
The system is designed for buyer and seller agents to communicate autonomously within the scope of delegated authority. Automatic payments between agents are made by transferring deposit tokens between the buyer's and seller's electronic wallets on the digital currency platform.
The Bank of Korea plans to continue research so it can support as payment methods stablecoins and other digital currencies similar to deposit tokens.
An LG CNS official said, "Around the world, agentic commerce in which AI performs everything from product searches to purchases and payments on behalf of consumers is drawing attention as a new trend," adding, "Blockchain-based digital currencies such as deposit tokens or stablecoins are emerging as suitable alternatives for ultra-small, high-frequency payments compared with traditional card- or account-centered payment methods."
Kim Hong-geun, head of LG CNS's Digital Business Division (vice president), said, "We confirmed the technical feasibility of an automatic payment structure for digital currency based on agentic AI technology," and added, "Based on this, we will support the Bank of Korea in proactively preparing future payment infrastructure."
Meanwhile, LG CNS is the prime contractor for the Bank of Korea's "Project Hangang," responsible for Blockchain-related technology development and platform construction. Earlier, LG CNS completed the Bank of Korea's digital currency platform and conducted real-transaction tests from Apr. to Jun. last year with about 80,000 customers of seven participating banks. As part of the follow-up real-transaction initiative to Project Hangang, it is preparing a "pilot project for executing treasury subsidies based on the digital currency platform," and is also pursuing businesses related to security token offerings (STOs) and stablecoins.
Earlier on the 22nd, the company was also selected as the contractor for a 31.7 billion won project to build and integrate an offshore won settlement system commissioned by the Bank of Korea. An offshore won settlement system refers to financial infrastructure that allows financial institutions located in countries other than Korea to directly conduct transactions and settlements in won.