Ripple, a blockchain payments company, has partnered with South Korean securities firm Meritz Securities to explore digital asset custody and tokenization services for the country’s capital markets. Announced on October 14, 2026, the agreement will allow the companies to assess how Ripple’s institutional infrastructure could support Meritz’s existing securities business and potential digital asset services.
The partnership will begin within South Korea’s current regulatory framework, with both companies planning to expand their cooperation as rules governing digital assets develop. Neither company has announced a product launch date or disclosed the financial terms of the agreement.
Meritz Eyes Crypto Services
Under the agreement, Meritz Securities will evaluate Ripple Custody and the company’s tokenization infrastructure for managing, transferring and settling digital assets.
According to Ripple, Ripple Custody is designed for regulated financial institutions that need secure systems to hold and manage digital assets. The platform offers an alternative to building custody infrastructure internally, a process that can require significant investment in technology, security and compliance.
Meritz is also exploring several digital asset-related business opportunities as it prepares for the wider integration of digital assets into South Korea’s regulated financial system. These include spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), fractional investment products, security tokens, digital asset trading platforms, and Korean won-denominated stablecoins. However, the partnership announcement did not confirm plans to launch any of these products through Ripple.
Byungha Kang, managing director of Meritz Securities’ Strategic Planning Unit, said the partnership would combine Ripple’s global digital asset infrastructure with the firm’s capital markets expertise. “As Korea’s regulatory framework evolves, we will prepare safe and trusted digital asset financial services in stages,” he said.
Ripple Adds Korean Securities Partner
According to Ripple, the agreement makes Meritz Securities Ripple’s fourth institutional partner in South Korea in 2026 and its first partnership with a local securities firm. Before this deal, Ripple had partnered with three other Korean financial institutions to explore blockchain-based financial services.
In April 2026, Ripple partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance to explore blockchain-based settlement of tokenized South Korean government bonds. The project aims to reduce settlement times from two business days to near real time using Ripple Custody. In the same month, Ripple partnered with Kbank, South Korea’s first internet-only bank, to test blockchain-based cross-border payments. The project includes digital wallet integration and transfers to markets such as the UAE and Thailand, with the aim of making international payments faster and more efficient.
In August 2026, Ripple partnered with Jeonbuk Bank to deploy Ripple Payments for cross-border transfers. The service is designed to help business customers, including exporters, IT startups and online content creators, receive international payments within seconds to minutes. Jeonbuk Bank became the first regional bank in South Korea to adopt Ripple’s payments infrastructure.
While the earlier partnerships focused on bond settlement, digital wallets, and cross-border payments, the Meritz Securities deal extends Ripple’s work into South Korea’s securities sector. The two companies will explore digital asset custody and tokenization, with further developments depending on the country’s evolving regulatory framework.
Regulation to Guide Expansion
South Korea’s regulatory framework will play a central role in determining how the proposed services develop. Ripple and Meritz have said their initial cooperation will remain within existing rules, with any expansion taking place as the country’s digital asset regulations evolve.
Fiona Murray, Ripple’s managing director for Asia Pacific, said the company provides payments, custody and tokenization infrastructure and operates across more than 60 markets, with more than 85 licenses globally.
The announcement did not specify which blockchain network would support the proposed tokenization services. It also did not confirm whether XRP, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin or the XRP Ledger would be used in any future products. For now, the agreement represents an exploratory step toward bringing institutional digital asset infrastructure into Meritz’s securities business. Further developments will depend on the companies’ assessments, regulatory requirements and decisions on which services to pursue.
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