The Bank of Korea (BOK) officially launched the pilot for the Bank of Korea Won International Wire Network (BOK-WIN) on Monday, September 21, 2026, at 9:00 AM. The new settlement system operates continuously from 9:00 AM on business days until 9:00 AM the following business day, pausing operations only on weekends and public holidays.
The pilot involves four major domestic financial institutions: KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank, and Shinhan Bank. System resilience testing is scheduled to run until the full commercial rollout target in January 2027, by which time the BOK expects foreign banks to join the network.
No Domestic Account Required
BOK-WIN’s cross-border access is backed by revised foreign exchange regulations. Registered foreign institutions are now permitted to open omnibus accounts at Korean foreign exchange banks. Through a specialized account facility known as RFI-K (Registered Foreign Institutions for KRW Business), foreign investors gain a direct pathway to settle won transactions.
They can process settlements directly through BOK infrastructure without needing to open accounts at domestic Korean financial institutions. South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance described the overhaul of offshore won transaction flows as part of the government’s roadmap to make fund settlements more independent of time zone and location barriers.
The BOK stated that improving foreign access to the won settlement infrastructure is expected to bolster the international standing of the Korean currency.
Infrastructure Building Blocks Ahead of February 2027
The timeline for BOK-WIN’s full launch in January 2027 aligns closely with broader regulatory developments. South Korea is currently racing to finalize its tokenized securities infrastructure, aiming to complete all preparations ahead of the Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) full tokenization framework rollout in February 2027.
The systematic buildout of digital financial infrastructure is also reflected in the moves of network participants. Just a day prior to the BOK-WIN launch, Hana Bank made history as the first Korean bank to issue a $100 million digital bond on Euroclear’s blockchain platform. The issuance of digital assets on international platforms combined with a 24-hour domestic settlement channel highlights South Korea’s systematic strategy in building out its digital financial infrastructure for the coming year.
Source: crypto.news.
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