Fujitsu, Japanese Banks To Test Blockchain-based Money Transfer Service

Information and communication technology firm Fujitsu is set to carry out a field trial of money transfer service with three Japanese banks.

The company has signed agreement with Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group to carry out a joint field trial of a person-to-person money transfer service by using blockchain technology.

The trial, which will be started in January 2018, will be carried out for around three months. Fujitsu has already started development of the trial system.

Fujitsu will develop a cloud-based blockchain platform for money transfers between individuals, which can be jointly used by three banks.

It will also develop smartphone application to allow users to handle various steps for sending money and for making deposits and withdrawals.

Fujitsu, along with the banks, will verify whether the system can seamlessly link a money transfer account for individuals set up on the platform with the user's actual bank account.

The trial will evaluate practical unctionality and operability, which improves convenience and provides user-friendly authentication user experience when interacting with the service.

In addition, the field trial will confirm whether the new platform can accurately and securely handle a series of processes such as transferring value between money transfer accounts for individual, clearing and settlement.

Based on the trial results, Fujitsu is planning to develop a service platform that is convenient for users.

Image: Fujitsu's world headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: courtesy of Kakidai.