Japanese banking giant SBI Holdings recently announced its plans to introduce the “S Coin” cryptocurrency token. The token is a product of a joint venture between Glory Corporation and Orb, the DLT provider. It will support mobile retail payments.
The trial run for S Coin will begin from October this year. With this launch, the company seeks to introduce a form of cashless transaction system in Japan.
Japanese banking giant SBI Holdings to allow Smartphone use
A statement from SBI Holdings says that the bank will allow the use of Smartphones for settling and charging transactions for S Coin. The bank will begin the trial first with the employees of SBI Group. The employees will first test the cashless settlement system at restaurants located in the Roppongi Izumi Garden Tower headquarters.
Based on this study, SBI will evaluate the usefulness and possibilities that the DLT and blockchain technology can offer in settling transactions and promoting its dream of a cashless society. During the experiment, the Japanese banking giant SBI Holdings will collaborate with the ATM network of Glory and link S Coin wallets and credit cards. This framework will open up the possibility of carrying out a wide variety of transactions.
The user can thus use S Coin on mobile devices by exchanging fiat currency for the S Coin cryptocurrency token seamlessly. During the experiment, the bank will also try to find out the exact needs of the user and accordingly build the framework of S Coin.
SBI to use Glory machines for automated cashless service
Machines from Glory operate automated cash devices. Hence, once users add a top up, they will receive S Coins on their mobile devices. According to SBI,
“By doing this, we exchange cash with various electronic currencies and verify whether we can meet the needs of various users [as] expected. After that, we will promote consideration of electronic currency settlement, such as enabling settlement with Glory’s products.”
In the event SBI succeeds in this trial run, it will go for full implementation of S Coin. Experts believe that it will mark the beginning of the use of blockchain technology to settle payments in Japan.