Financial giant Mizuho will use cryptocurrency for cashless payments

Japanese financial group Mizuho plans to start using digital currency for money transfers and payments in March, local news source Nikkei reported today. The fee that retail stores will have to pay to accept cryptocurrency will be significantly lower than the fee for using a credit card. Transferring funds between a digital wallet and a bank account will reportedly be free, as will sending funds to other users.

In addition, according to Nikkei, the bank has attracted “about 60 regional banks” to promote non-cash payments. Regional banks will provide services under a common name that has not yet been invented. The currency will reportedly be managed by a special mobile application, and payments will be made using QR codes. Payments will be made using a stablecoin backed by Japanese yen.

Mizuho Financial Group is a publicly traded bank holding company with 2017 revenues of 1.45 trillion yen (more than $13 billion). The proposed stablecoin is the result of the development of J-Coin, announced in September 2017 by Mizuho.

As Cointelegraph reported in January, Japanese financial group Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG), the fifth largest largest bank in the world, will also issue its own digital currency - the MUFG coin.

As for cryptocurrency legislation in Japan, the country's Financial Services Agency (FSA) is considering moving cryptocurrencies into a special legal category called “cryptoassets” to avoid confusion when making transfers and payments.

According to cointelegraph.com