SBI will help create a cashless society with S Coin

Financial giant SBI Group is testing a cryptocurrency token that will be used for retail payments from mobile devices

SBI Group's investment arm, SBI Holdings, which launched Japan's first bank-backed cryptocurrency exchange in June, said in a press release that it is about to begin a proof-of-concept "S coin" token built using distributed ledger technology (DLT).

SBI Holdings representatives Mamoru Fujimoto and Yoshitaka Kitao said the token would allow for charging and settlement from users' smartphones. During testing, the group's employees will use the "S Coin" platform to make cashless payments in cafes and restaurants near the company's main office in Tokyo. To enable participants to receive tokens, SBI Holdings has installed a Glory machine that accepts credit cards and other funds and sends tokens to mobile devices through a mechanism developed by SBI.

The release also states that in developing future products on the S Coin platform, SBI will continue to collaborate with Glory, which has nearly $3 billion in total assets.

The S Coin platform was developed by SBI Holdings using technology DLT provided by a tech startup called Orb. The platform allows users to “develop and publish” custom cryptocurrencies for specific applications. Blockchain Orb is built to process transactions and manage financial applications, and is "highly available, scalable and secure on private or consortium networks." Fujimoto and Kitao said SBI is going to help create a "cashless society by offering a diverse settlement infrastructure" in collaboration with Orb and Glory.

According to coindesk.com