Today The Nikkei reported that major Japanese credit card firm JCB is working on a blockchain B2B payments solution specifically for netting bilateral transactions.
By netting payments and receipts, intercompany payments are for lower values, as are the associated transaction costs. The card provider is partnering with local firm LayerX for the solution.
Details were a little thin on the ground but referred to the integration with corporate ordering systems and accounting software. We’ve reached out to LayerX for additional information and will update the story.
The vast majority of firms have a one-way relationship with their partners, which are either customers or suppliers, not both. The sorts of companies with two-way trade include any investment firm, commodity traders and perhaps the large Japanese conglomerates.
This is not the first JCB B2B payment system that has been disclosed. A year ago, it announced a partnership with U.S. payment firm PayStand for corporate SME payments. The focus of that project is on keeping the records of transactions tamperproof and enabling smart payments. It also has a partnership with accelerator TECHFUND for a payment system using blockchain and a relationship with Singapore’s Keychain for identity.
There are numerous blockchain payments initiatives in Japan, many of which use coins and are consumer-focused. These include Mizuho’s J-Coin, SBI’s MoneyTap payment system and S coin for regional currencies, and GO-NET, a joint initiative between MUFG and Akamai.
Meanwhile, Visa has its B2B Connect platform that leverages blockchain for high-value international payments.