Solana lands Toss Bank: Korea's $20B IPO fintech goes on-chain for remittances and RWA 💸

South Korea's Toss Bank, the country's third-largest internet-only bank, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Solana Foundation to test blockchain-based cross-border remittance and settlement infrastructure, marking the first direct collaboration between a South Korean internet-only bank and the Solana ecosystem. The partnership was disclosed this week as Toss Bank's parent company, Viva Republica, moves toward a US initial public offering valued at roughly $20 billion.

Under the agreement, Toss Bank and the Solana Foundation will begin with a proof of concept (PoC) focused on global remittances and overseas stablecoin transfers routed through the Solana network. Following the initial phase, the two parties plan to expand the collaboration to cover payments, digital assets, and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), evaluating how Solana's faster finality and low transaction fees can support high-volume, instant settlement use cases.

The deal places one of South Korea's largest digital banks at the center of an emerging push by domestic financial institutions to integrate stablecoins and tokenized assets into mainstream services. Toss Bank will explore stablecoin integration for overseas remittances as part of the PoC, with subsequent phases examining broader payment flows and RWA tokenization on Solana.

The partnership comes against a backdrop of tightening oversight of digital assets in South Korea, where regulators have increased scrutiny of token issuance, stablecoin arrangements, and crypto-related banking activities. Toss Bank's tie-up with the Solana Foundation adds a high-profile bank to the list of South Korean financial firms engaging with public blockchain infrastructure ahead of the country's evolving regulatory framework.

Viva Republica, operator of the Toss super-app and Toss Bank, is preparing for a US listing, with reports pegging the upcoming IPO at around $20 billion. Toss Bank confirmed the MOU with the Solana Foundation as part of a broader strategy to position itself at the intersection of traditional banking and on-chain finance. The PoC and subsequent phases will determine the scope and timing of any production deployment on Solana.