61 Japanese Banks To Launch A Ripple Consumer Payments App

The consortium of more than 60 Japanese banks which makes around 80% of the country’s total banking assets are now tapping into the launch of a retail consumer payments app – all thanks to Ripple’s blockchain technology.

Also known as “MoneyTap” this new app will enable customers in 61 banks to settle instant domestic transactions in the country. This initiative will start from the San Francisco-based FinTech startup and will apparently let consumers be able to trigger domestic money transfers for instant transactions 24/7.

According to SBI Ripple Asia, the Japan Bank consortium was first launched in November 2016. Then, it had 42 members in an effort to develop blockchain solutions in various payments and settlements. The consortium has since increased and now counts 61 member banks which account for more than 80% of all the banking assets in Japan.

According to the announcement, the app will let customers from the consortium’s banks to send and receive payments using only a QR code, phone number or their bank account number. This will result in a very easy and convenient process compared to the current traditional bank transfers.

So far, there have been a couple of mobile banking solutions in Japan. The payments clearing platform Zengin is one of the most popular right now – but it is still limited as it only allows domestic money transfers between 8:30 AM and 3:30 PM in the country.

According to the CEO of SBI Ripple Takashi Okita:

“Together with the trust, reliability and reach of the bank consortium, we can remove friction from payments and create a faster, safer, and more efficient domestic payments experience for our customers.”

The launch will have three members of the consortium go live with the app – which is scheduled for autumn this year.