SBI establishes Money Tap entity to promote cashless payments
SBI Holdings has formalized its engagement in cashless payments by incorporating Money Tap as a 100% subsidiary with an initial paid-in capital of JPY 100m. The company stated that it plans to accept investments from other financial institutions in the future, but will maintain a majority stake.
SBI had launched “Money Tap” in October 2018, and positioned it as the first money transfer application for smartphones that uses Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in Japan. It builds upon a consortium that was launched two years prior, consisting of over 60 major and regional banks which account for approximately 80% of domestic deposits. At this point, however, only SBI Sumishin Net Bank, Suruga Bank and Resona Bank are listed as “live” institutions on the Money Tap website.
Money Tap uses the “xCurrent” distributed ledger technology from Ripple, of which SBI Group is a major shareholder. Money Tap aims to further accelerate innovation through the promotion and introduction of new technologies with the full cooperation of Ripple. Just like many other cashless payment ventures position themselves, SBI and Money Tap are also looking to “provide financial services with high customer benefit, and contribute to fostering new industries and reducing social costs through cashlessization.”
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