Samsung has joined up with Bank of Korea on research for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) that can be used for offline wire transfers and payments.
At a ceremony in Suwon, south of Seoul, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Korea’s central bank to continue technical research on CBDC. The partnership follows the company’s participation in the second phase of a CBDC pilot study conducted by Bank of Korea.
This phase tested device-to-device money transfers and payments via Near Field Communication (NFC), a feature which allows the devices to conduct money transfers and payments even without an internet connection. The technology used to make these payments includes using the embedded Secure Element (eSE) security chip inside Galaxy phones to reduce security risks and ensure reliable transactions happen during emergencies.
“This collaboration with Bank of Korea has allowed us to apply Samsung’s advanced security innovations to the digital currency field. We expect our collaboration to contribute to the advancement of global offline CBDC technology,“ Dr. Won-Joon Choi, EVP and Head of Mobile R&D Office, MX Business at Samsung Electronics, said.
Samsung said its phones and smartwatches that support CBDC transfers will offer the highest level of security through their Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) 6+ grade hardware certification. Executives attending the signing ceremony included Seungheon Lee, Senior Deputy Governor at Bank of Korea, and Dr. Won-Joon Choi, EVP and Head of Mobile R&D Office at Samsung MX.
