The convenience store giant 7-Eleven has announced that all of its South Korean branches will begin accepting the nation’s CBDC as payment starting in June.
Per Enews Today, the firm is the latest to step up its involvement in the Bank of Korea (BOK)’s digital won pilot.
7-Eleven: CBDC Adoption Expands
The retail giant is the only convenience store chain currently working with the BOK. The bank is currently stepping up its “real-world transaction experiment.”
The stores will allow digital won holders to pay at tills using QR codes from their CBDC wallets.
Some 100,000 South Koreans are now making CBDC payments using wallets from the BOK’s seven commercial banking partners: Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana, Industrial Bank (IBK), Nonghyup, and Busan Bank.
The convenience store chain is also planning to incentivize pilot participants’ spending in-store with promotional events.
7-Eleven said it would offer all CBDC-paying customers a “10% discount on all products” when making payments “during the pilot period.”
Moon Dae-woo, the head of 7-Eleven’s digital innovation department, was quoted as explaining:
“We are making efforts to operate our stores more efficiently using next-generation digital technology. Joining the digital fiat pilot has allowed us to accelerate our digital transformation plans.”
Bank of Korea to launch CBDC trial for 100,000 consumers, enabling retail transactions.#CBDC #SouthKoreahttps://t.co/e8EeB8WyOt
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) March 11, 2025
Banks have also been rushing to promote the CBDC among their customer bases. This week, Busan Bank, the only local bank to join the pilot thus far, announced a raffle for its customers selected to join the CBDC pilot, with the winners to be awarded prizes including smartphones, smart watches, and coffee shop coupons.
Other high-street commercial retailers who have joined the pilot in recent weeks include Kyobo Bookstore, the supermarket chain Hanaro Mart, and Ediya Coffee.
E-commerce companies and online retailers including Hyundai Home Shopping, Danggyeoyo, and Cosmo have also begun piloting digital KRW payments.
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