KSNet signs Solana Foundation MOU for Solana Pay and x402 pilots

KSNet has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation covering two proof-of-concept projects: adapting Solana Pay to South Korea's domestic payments environment across KSNet's online and offline merchant network, and testing the x402 protocol for an internally verified AI-driven payment model. The company, which has operated for 26 years, provides card payment, payment gateway and electronic banking services and facilitates more than $4 billion in monthly transaction volume across more than 330,000 users. The Solana Pay pilot is designed to connect digital asset settlement to South Korea's existing won settlement network while incorporating domestic anti-money laundering controls to block abnormal fund flows in line with financial authority guidelines. KSNet said the structure is intended to reduce exchange-rate volatility and liquidity risk when crypto-native assets are converted for merchant payouts. The x402 work targets machine-to-machine and AI-agent payments that are difficult to support economically on traditional card rails because of layered fee structures, especially for single-won micropayments. Solana's low fees and fast settlement are seen as a potential fit, though recent x402 activity on Solana has slowed after rapid growth in December 2025, with X402scan data indicating Base has regained the lead in transaction count and volume. The agreement extends a broader string of Korean institutional tie-ups for the Solana Foundation, following collaborations with Shinhan Card in April and Toss Bank and KG Group in June. KSNet has also recently begun a digital asset settlement off-ramp proof of concept with K Bank and Lambda256, while Nodit separately disclosed an MOU with KSNet to pilot USDC-based stablecoin payments on Solana. All of the Korean agreements remain pre-commercial, and the eventual scope of deployment will depend on how the Digital Asset Basic Act shapes the regulatory path.