The Bank of Korea is taking its central bank digital currency experiment into a live environment, with nine commercial banks set to offer deposit tokens to up to 500,000 users starting in September 2026. The move follows a successful first phase that processed nearly 115,000 transactions across roughly 81,000 wallets.
Phase 1 by the numbers
From April to June 2025, the Bank of Korea ran a closed pilot with seven banks. The test handled 114,880 transactions across about 81,000 wallets. Those numbers gave regulators enough confidence to push ahead with a much larger rollout. The wallet cap for Phase 2 jumps from 100,000 to 500,000, and the bank cohort expands from seven to nine institutions.
What Phase 2 brings
The new phase adds features that were absent in the first trial. Users will be able to send money person-to-person, log in with biometrics, set up auto top-ups, and apply programmable payment rules. The per-wallet holding limit rises to 10 million KRW, with a cumulative ceiling of 100 million KRW per user. Remittances are capped at 1 million KRW per transfer and 5 million KRW per day for individuals. Those limits are higher than Phase 1, reflecting the broader scope of the live test.
First real subsidy: EV charging
For the first time, the pilot will handle actual government disbursements. The initial use case is electric vehicle charging support. The Bank of Korea plans to distribute EV charging subsidies through the deposit-token system, giving a real-world test of how a CBDC could replace traditional subsidy channels. Programmable payment rules will let the central bank attach conditions to the funds, ensuring they're spent only on approved charging services.
Regulatory green light
The Financial Services Commission approved the Phase 2 framework on July 15, 2026. That clearance allows the Bank of Korea and the nine participating banks to begin onboarding users and preparing the technical infrastructure. The approval also sets the legal boundaries for the deposit token, including the wallet and transaction limits.
The pilot is set to go live in September 2026.
