Kakao Pay CEO says stablecoins are the best payment tool for AI agents

In short

• Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun said on 26 October 2026 that stablecoins are the optimal payment tool for AI agents.
• He named three tasks: payment infrastructure, trust-building and regulatory improvement.
• Shin said stablecoins enable high-frequency micropayments and easier cross-border payments, according to IT Chosun.
• The speech gave no concrete start date or regulator stance on won stablecoins, InvestIn.News found.

Speaking at Seoul Fintech Week 2026 in Seoul on 26 October 2026, Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun argued that stablecoins are the best way for AI agents to pay, IT Chosun reported. He urged faster progress on stablecoins, tokenisation and digital assets, and set out three priorities for widening the use of financial AI agents: building the payment infrastructure, earning trust and improving the rules. InvestIn.News went through the speech and found no firm start date and no clear regulator position on won-denominated stablecoins.

Why stablecoins suit AI agents

Shin Won-keun devoted much of his keynote to setting out why stablecoins work well as a way for AI agents to pay, according to IT Chosun. They support very frequent small payments, let software verify a transaction without anyone keying in card numbers or security codes, and greatly simplify sending money across borders. CoinNess reported that the chief executive said stablecoins are well suited to high-frequency micropayments and easier cross-border payments for AI agents.

No start date yet for won stablecoins

Shin Won-keun did not announce a launch date for any stablecoin payment service. The speech reviewed by InvestIn.News gave no concrete start date and did not spell out Korean regulators' position on won-denominated stablecoins. His call for regulatory improvement suggests the company wants the rules to move before it can move.

How other payments firms are preparing

Odaily reported that Mastercard has opened early access to Agent Pay for Machines, a service for AI agent payments built on the x402 protocol. The system runs on Coinbase wallets, settles on-chain through Base and relies on BVNK for fiat or stablecoin payments. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has said he expects AI software to move funds directly, Followin reported.

What the remarks mean for users

For ordinary users of its app in South Korea, the remarks point to a future where software can approve payments without card details. High-frequency micropayments and easier cross-border transfers would matter most to people who pay small amounts often or send money abroad. But Shin Won-keun gave no timeline for any of that.

Questions readers ask

Why does Shin think stablecoins suit AI agent payments?

Shin Won-keun said stablecoins enable high-frequency micropayments, allow transactions through software-based authentication without card numbers or security codes, and make cross-border payments much easier for AI agents, according to IT Chosun and CoinNess.

Did Kakao Pay announce a launch date for stablecoin payments?

No. In the speech reviewed by InvestIn.News, Shin gave no start date and did not set out Korean regulators' position on won-denominated stablecoins. He called for faster regulatory work but announced no timeline.

Our view

At InvestIn.News, we think the company has a real opportunity to bring stablecoin payments to AI agents in South Korea, but it is not a straightforward task. The chief executive's remarks show a clear strategic focus, yet the speech itself leaves the execution questions open.

Shin Won-keun said that building next-generation financial infrastructure combining AI and blockchain needs cooperation across issuance, distribution, regulation and security. A concrete pilot, such as a small stablecoin settlement test with a Korean merchant, would be the clearest sign that the company can move from ambition to execution.

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Keshav Aggarwal