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Hyundai Card, the financial arm of South Korean giant Hyundai, announced the successful completion of its first practical test of cross-border money transfers using stablecoins. This pilot, supported by USDT issuer Tether and the Avalanche blockchain platform, went beyond the usual laboratory conditions and was conducted with real cash flows within a corporate structure.

The goal of the experiment was to transfer $20,000 between two Hyundai Motor subsidiaries: the US subsidiary and its Mexican branch. The US side converted the amount into the USDT stablecoin and sent it through the Avalanche network. Upon arrival in Mexico, the tokens were converted back into US dollars. Thus, the transaction fully simulated a real commercial payment that the company could use for internal settlements.

A time analysis of the transaction showed that the entire process—from sending to receiving the converted funds—took approximately seven minutes. Hyundai Card emphasized in its official statement that traditional interbank transfers typically take three to four hours. This comparison clearly demonstrates the advantages of stablecoin infrastructure in terms of speed, which is crucial for liquidity management in global companies.

It is important to note that this pilot project was not simply a technology demonstration, but was driven by Hyundai Motor's real need to speed up and simplify internal financial transactions between its overseas subsidiaries. Its focus on solving a specific business problem distinguishes this experiment from many other tests, which are often conducted in simulated conditions.

Hyundai Card was responsible for regulatory interactions, legal and tax due diligence, transfer scheme development, and internal audit. Axiym, which integrated Hyundai's corporate systems with the Avalanche network, provided technical support for the blockchain-based payment infrastructure.

The collaboration with Tether and Avalanche doesn't end there. Hyundai Card plans to launch a second pilot project later this month. It will cover Hyundai Motor's European subsidiaries and will involve Visa and Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin. The main difference with this second phase is that it will test transfers not only in dollars but also in a number of European currencies. This will allow for a more comprehensive assessment of the economic efficiency of international payments using stablecoins across various currency pairs and jurisdictions.

Thus, the first pilot project was not simply a technology test for Hyundai, but the beginning of a systematic study of potential changes to its corporate treasury practices.