JAPANESE BANKS MITSUBISHI, SUMITOMO AND MIZUHO HAVE CLOSED A JOINT BLOCKCHAIN PROJECT

The three largest banks of Japan have stopped a joint project on the organization of remittances on the basis of blockchain. According to representatives of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group, it duplicates their individual initiatives, so there is no sense to continue the work.

According to a Nikkei Asian Review news source, the joint initiative would allow Bank customers to send and receive funds using email addresses or mobile phone numbers through digital accounts linked to their Bank accounts.

The project was announced in 2017. Fujitsu was responsible for developing blockchain solutions and smartphone applications for peer-to-peer money transfers. The aim of the project was to link the two solutions to Bank accounts of each of the three banks.

The pilot was tested in 2017, and more complex tests were planned in 2018.

Some of the initiatives of financial institutions that could compete with the joint venture include the development of digital currencies: Mizuho and Mitsubishi UFJ are developing their own cryptocurrencies-J-Coin and MUFG Coin.

Mizuho Financial Group tested the digital currency at the end of 2016 with the participation of IBM Japan. The purpose of the project was to create a stablecoin J-Coin, which is tied to the Japanese yen in a ratio of 1:1 – to reduce the cost of remittances.

In addition to working on their own digital currencies, Japanese financial institutions have also joined other global initiatives in the field of blockchain. In particular, Mizuho Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group are members of R3 consortium.