GS Retail said on the 2nd that it has signed a strategic partnership (hereinafter business agreement) with IBK Industrial Bank of Korea and the Bank of Korea and will begin building infrastructure for the commercialization of deposits tokens.
At the agreement ceremony held at 9 a.m. that day, Chief Executive Officer Hur Suh-hong of GS Retail, President Jang Min-young of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, and Governor Rhee Chang-yong of the Bank of Korea and other officials from the three parties attended. The three parties agreed to pursue cooperation including: ▲ building a payment and settlement system based on the Bank of Korea's digital currency and deposits tokens ▲ creating an in-store payment environment at GS25 locations ▲ and joint research and development to discover business models that can be commercialized in the future.
This business agreement was reached as part of phase two of "Project Hangang," which the Bank of Korea released. Centering on convenience stores, which are most closely linked to consumers' daily spending, the plan is to lay the groundwork for the commercialization and expansion of deposits tokens.
GS Retail has begun activities to build payment and settlement infrastructure based on digital currency and deposits tokens. Starting in the second half, it plans to fully roll out a deposits token payment service at GS25 stores nationwide.
Lee Jeong-pyo, head of marketing at GS Retail, said, "GS Retail aims to secure leadership in the digital currency payment ecosystem by being the earliest to sign an official business agreement in step with the phase-two push of Project Hangang," adding, "We will take the lead in rapidly expanding digital currency and deposits token payment infrastructure based on GS25 stores nationwide, and in enabling customers to experience payment methods using digital currency in their daily lives."