Japan Credit Bureau to Test CBDC for Payment Settlement

Ahead of Japan’s issuance of CBDC, Japan Credit Bureau (JCB) has launched its digital currency. JCB is projecting that asking older citizens and young children to use a new payment infrastructure may limit the adoption of CBDCs in the future. As such, the firm is looking to test CBDC acceptance with its existing payment infrastructure vis, contactless payment system, merchants, POS terminals, and plastic card-based user interfaces.

To make this happen, the payment provider is partnering with identity technologies firm, IDEMIA and a leading fintech company, Soft Space. The plan is to develop the payment system by late 2022 and pilot test it with Tokyo merchants until March 2023.

Redefining CBDC Usage

A managing director at IDEMIA, Romain Zanolo, believes their collaboration with JCB and Soft Space is “redefining the very fundamentals of the payment ecosystem.” Zanolo believes the partnership will advance global CBDC growth. Soft Space CEO Joel Tay also expressed his thrill at the collaboration and what it means for the company.

According to Koremitsu Sannomiya, a Senior Executive Officer of JCB, the project proves that existing payment acceptance hardware can work well with new CBDC payment systems. This, he noted, will highly benefit consumers and merchants.

While Japan may not launch a CBDC any time soon, its efforts are nevertheless accelerating and becoming clearer. Unlike China, the country has no plans for large-scale pilots. Nevertheless, the project continues to make steady progress toward a new phase. It stands to reason that the JCB does not want to be caught flatfooted.

Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, has previously stated that the bank will not decide on issuing a CBDC until 2026.

Japan Credit Bureau and its Blockchain Moves

Asides from creating its digital currency, JCB has been making forays into the world of blockchain, crypto, and Web3.

Last December, it partnered with blockchain firm Datachain to research blockchain interoperability and build a digital currency exchange platform. More recently, it collaborated with JP Games and Fujitsu to create a decentralized identifier for metaverse users. This identifier will improve interoperability in NFT markets and enhance the security of digital data in the metaverse and gaming world.