South Korean startup CrossHub, which builds identity verification and payment tools, is betting that the fastest route to credibility runs through foreign markets. Rather than pitching cautious institutions on technology alone, the company is running pilots with overseas partners and using the results as references.
The approach is now being tested in Singapore's healthcare sector, according to a release published by The Manila Times. The company has also signed new partnerships in travel and payments and recently closed a funding round backed by returning investors.
A Voice Authentication Pilot in Singapore Healthcare
CrossHub signed a non-disclosure agreement this year with Singapore's National Healthcare Group Diagnostics (NHGD) and is running a proof of concept with the organization. Last month it completed an on-site demonstration ahead of a planned service launch.
In Singapore, patients state their name and address aloud before seeing a doctor, and staff have typically checked the details by hand. CrossHub's V-Pay product analyzes a speaker's voice to confirm identity, aiming to automate that step.
Team lead Kim Dong-ju said a full contract would give the company access to voice data from northern Singapore, and that the technology could extend beyond healthcare to other industries.
Why Overseas References Matter at Home
CrossHub's strategy reflects a common obstacle for startups selling into regulated sectors. Companies evaluating identity verification want evidence of accuracy and convenience, but also of security and data protection, before committing.
Kim described the problem directly: traditional industries "demand safety and references, so we decided to solve that problem overseas first."
The company has run proofs of concept with partners including French security firm Thales. That track record has helped it begin working with Korean financial institutions such as Woori Bank, Samsung Card, Woori Card and Hana Bank.
Passport-Based Identity Built on Privacy Technology
CrossHub grew out of a practical gap: many popular Korean apps, including Kakao T and Baemin, require verification through a local mobile number, which short-term visitors usually lack. The company built passport-based verification to address this.
Its technology combines self-sovereign identity, which lets users control their own credentials instead of leaving data with each service, and zero-knowledge proofs, which confirm a fact without revealing the underlying personal information. The goal is to verify users while limiting how much personal data is stored or exposed.
Moving Into Payments, Travel and Remittances
The company is extending its identity work into payments. With Woori Bank, it is developing Travel Pass, a platform intended to let foreign visitors pay for purchases and access transport and tourism services in Korea. In September, it signed an integration and sales agreement with Japanese travel platform Linktivity covering transportation and tourism products.
CrossHub is also working on cross-border remittances. Under a project commissioned by the Korea Internet & Security Agency, it is building a stable-token remittance solution using cross-border API connections, with plans to connect Korean and Vietnamese banks.
Kim expects blockchain to function less as a standalone sector and more as underlying infrastructure for areas such as AI, AI agents and quantum technology, with user-friendly services mattering more than technical maturity alone.
Market-by-Market Expansion and a Yearly Product Cadence
CrossHub adjusts its approach by country. Japan's regulations resemble Korea's, but building trust there takes time. Singapore, with advanced financial services and active startup-corporate collaboration, serves as the company's hub for pilots and commercialization, with Europe and North America as later targets and North America as the long-term goal.
The company has released a product each year: IDBlock for identity verification in 2024, the B-Pay payment solution in 2025 and V-Pay in 2026, with another product planned for 2027.
On funding, CrossHub raised money from four accelerators in 2025, all of which returned for its recently closed round, joined by two banks and a government institution. The company is a resident of SVC Seoul, a startup hub in the Hongdae area, and Kim said its global network grew from about 20 countries last year to about 40 this year.
What CrossHub's Playbook Signals for Founders
For startups selling into finance, healthcare and other regulated fields, CrossHub's path shows how foreign pilots can serve as proof points that open doors domestically. Validation in a market like Singapore can carry weight with conservative buyers elsewhere.
The next test is conversion. The company says it intends to turn its pilots and partnerships into signed contracts and live services, then carry them into new countries and industries as it pursues its stated ambition of becoming a technology-driven fintech company.
Source: The Manila Times
