Sui Teams Up with t’order to Power Stablecoin Payments in South Korea

Blockchain protocol has announced a notable partnership with South Korea’s leading point-of-sale (POS) and ordering platform t’order to build a nationwide stablecoin payments infrastructure. The collaboration aims to transform how small business merchants and consumers conduct digital payments, especially in the food and retail sector, using a won-pegged stablecoin deployed on Sui. 

What’s the Vision?

t’order operates over 300,000 POS devices across , handling extensive daily transactions.  Their goal, aligned with Sui’s technology, is to replace or supplement conventional card-based payments (which incur fees) with quick, low-cost stablecoin settlement. In effect, small merchants could benefit from reduced payment processing fees, and consumers may enjoy seamless digital currency payments in everyday settings. 

The stablecoin will be pegged to the South Korean won (KRW), anchoring it to local fiat value. All transaction and loyalty data will be recorded and stored via , a decentralized storage protocol built on the Sui blockchain. This approach ensures transparency, decentralization, and data integrity. 

Also, t’order plans to integrate advanced user interfaces such as QR codes and facial recognition technology to streamline payments. These features are intended to make stablecoin payments as frictionless as familiar digital payments in Korea.  The target user base is largely the food and restaurant sector, which in South Korea represents a market valued in the hundreds of trillions of KRW. 

Why It Matters

Here’s why it matters:

• Lower Costs for Merchants: By bypassing traditional card networks, merchants may retain more margin per transaction.
• Greater Crypto Adoption: A won-pegged stablecoin with everyday use encourages consumers to transact using crypto rather than speculative tokens.
• Regulated Local Option: South Korea has recently viewn growing interest in domestic, fiat-pegged stablecoins (e.g., KRW1 on Avalanche), reflecting a shift away from reliance on foreign stablecoins like or USDC.
• Legislative Momentum: The Korean government is preparing to unveil new legislation to regulate stablecoin issuance, including rules on collateral backing, internal controls, and transparency.

Challenges and Considerations

While the vision is ambitious, several hurdles remain:

• Regulation & Licensing: Stablecoin issuers will need to comply with new legislation that the Korean government is drafting.
• Adoption & Trust: Convincing everyday users and merchants to adopt a new payment method takes time.
• Technical Integration: Ensuring latency, user experience, and seamless backups in decentralized systems must be fault-tolerant.
• Competition: Other local or global initiatives may vie for the identical market niche in South Korea.

Stablecoin Payments: A New Era for South Korea’s Digital Economy?

The Sui–t’order partnership is one of the more concrete examples of blockchain firms attempting real-world payments adoption (versus speculative or DeFi-only use). If successful, it could serve as a blueprint for other markets where local stablecoins can be integrated into existing merchant infrastructure, reducing reliance on legacy payment rails.

The next key milestones to watch are the official launch timeline, the identity of the stablecoin issuer, how the system handles regulatory oversight, and how rapidly merchants adopt the new infrastructure. If Sui and t’order can deliver on the promise, everyday crypto payments in Korea may move closer to reality.