Hitachi Payments has partnered with the State Bank of India (SBI) to establish a nationwide digital payments platform, according to a press release published by Hitachi Oct. 29. Under the aegis of the government’s “Digital India” campaign, Hitachi will provide SBI with solutions including its Internet-of-Things (IoT) platform "Lumada," which was implemented as the base platform for a major blockchain proof-of-concept (PoC) for supply chain management undertaken with Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group last year. Hitachi Payments is a wholly-owned subsidiary in India of multinational tech conglomerate Hitachi, which provides technology-led payment solutions for financial institutions. It reportedly has 55,000 ATMs …

Tokyo-headquartered tech conglomerate Hitachi and telecoms giant KDDI are trialing a retail coupon settlement system that combines blockchain with biometrics, Cointelegraph Japan reports today, July 26. This week, staff from the two firms are participating in an experimental demonstration at a KDDI store in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, as well as a local donut shop. The trial integrates Hitachi’s Hyperledger Fabric-powered platform with biometric verification technology and KDDI’s existing retail coupon system. Users will first register their biometric data and coupon credits at a KDDI store, and then proceed to settle their coupon transactions at the local donut shop, using only …