Fujitsu and Three Japanese Banks to Conduct Blockchain Field Trial
Japanese IT firm Fujitsu has teamed with three Japanese banks to conduct a joint field trial of a person-to-person money transfer service using blockchain technology. The participating banks include Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc., and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.
Fujitsu said the trial will begin in January and last for about three months. A cloud-based blockchain platform will be set up for money transfers between individuals that can be jointly used by the participating banks, as well as a smartphone application that allows users to easily handle the different steps for sending money and for making deposits and withdrawals.
Fujitsu and the participating banks will verify that this system can seamlessly link a money transfer account for individuals set up on this platform with the user’s actual bank account. The field trial will additionally confirm whether the new platform can accurately and securely handle a series of processes, including transferring value between money transfer accounts for individuals, as well as clearing and settlement.
Last month, Fujitsu announced that the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA) will employ its cloud service-based Collaborative Blockchain Platform. JBA plans to offer the blockchain platform to its member banks and other institutions.
Fujitsu said that in addition to being a blockchain platform, this service includes standardized business APIs such as digital asset management that can be used in a variety of banking operations, as well as other industries’ operations. By using the Collaborative Blockchain Platform, JBA and its member banks can efficiently develop applications for new financial services and quickly test them.
