IT Firm Fujitsu Builds Blockchain Settlement Trial Infrastructure for Nine Japanese Banks

Japanese multinational IT equipment and services company Fujitsu will build an interbank settlement platform using blockchain technology as part of a joint project with nine domestic banks, Cointelegraph Japan reported Monday, Oct. 29.

Aiming to “confirm the viability of blockchain technology,” the trial of the platform is being orchestrated by the Japanese Banks' Payment Clearing Network, also known as Zengin-Net, a press release confirmed.

As part of the development, the platform will use an unnamed “digital currency” to make settlements.

According to the release, Fujitsu “will additionally leverage the P2P money transfer platform it developed in (the) fiscal (year) 2017 with three major banks to generate the money transfers to other banks that will trigger interbank funds transfer settlement,” adding:

“By participating in this project, Fujitsu aims to establish a new platform that utilizes cutting-edge technology to help realize a cashless society.”

The company has been involved in technical blockchain development for some time, last year releasing a tool facilitating faster transactions for Hyperledger Fabric, the Linux Foundation’s enterprise blockchain solution. In June, Fujitsu also launched a blockchain-based data storage system for the tokenization of traditional retail promotional strategies such as coupons and loyalty points.

Japan continues to see various blockchain banking initiatives appear from its major entities, with SBI Group earlier this month debuting a settlement system which uses Ripple (XRP) as its transfer medium.