South Korea’s 7-Eleven stores are now accepting central bank digital currency (CBDC) payments as part of the country’s CBDC project test phase, running from April 1 to June 30.
The convenience store chain will reportedly offer a 10% discount on all products purchased with CBDC during this trial period, according to Moon Dae-woo, head of 7-Eleven’s digital innovation division.
South Korea’s CBDC testing phase includes participation from many stores and 100,000 individuals who can test payments using CBDC issued by the central bank.
Announced on March 24 by the Bank of Korea, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the CBDC test allows participants to convert bank deposits into tokens stored on a distributed ledger, maintaining the same value as the Korean won.
Citizens aged 19 or older with a deposit account at participating banks—including KB, Koomin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NongHyup, IBK, and Busan—were eligible to apply, with registrations capped at 100,000 participants.
Beyond 7-Eleven, CBDCs can be used in coffee shops, supermarkets, K-Pop merchandise stores, and delivery platforms, with a total conversion limit of 5 million won ($3,416) during the test.
The Bank of Korea initially announced the retail CBDC testing for 100,000 users in November 2023, originally scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2024.
The FSS noted that this CBDC test marks progress toward a prototype for a “future monetary system.”