7-Eleven stores across South Korea are now accepting the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC) as part of a national pilot program running from April 1 to June 30. As an added incentive, customers paying with the CBDC will receive a 10% discount on all products during the trial period.

Moon Dae-woo, head of 7-Eleven’s digital innovation division, stated that the initiative is part of the company’s broader digital transformation strategy. The goal: to embrace cutting-edge technologies that can enhance both operations and customer experience.

This pilot is a coordinated effort by South Korea’s central bank and financial regulators, including the Bank of Korea, the Financial Services Commission, and the Financial Supervisory Service. The test will involve 100,000 selected citizens aged 19 and above, each allowed to convert up to 5 million won (around $3,416) from their regular bank deposits into CBDC tokens. These tokens, stored on a distributed ledger, maintain a one-to-one value with the Korean won.

Major banks like KB, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, and others are participating in the pilot, with CBDC usability extending beyond 7-Eleven to coffee shops, delivery platforms, supermarkets, and even K-pop merchandise stores.

While CBDCs promise faster, more efficient payments, they are fundamentally different from decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Government-issued and fully traceable, CBDCs raise important questions about user privacy and financial surveillance.

Originally planned for late 2024, the retail CBDC test was fast-tracked to begin in early 2025, marking a significant milestone in South Korea’s vision for a digitally empowered economy—and potentially the future of money itself.