Fujitsu to Trial Blockchain Tech with New Banking Partners

Fujitsu, Japan's largest IT equipment and services provider, is partnering with the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA) in a bid to test the viability of running financial services on a blockchain platform.

The JBA assesses the effectiveness of payment systems and provides guidance to banks on various issues, including how to utilize new technologies to improve services. Its membership comprises banks, bank holding institutions and smaller banking associations.

With the new deal, Fujitsu will provide a blockchain platform, built on the open-source Hyperledger Fabric code base, that individual banks within the JBA's ranks can then use to test various business use cases.

The association said in a press release:

"JBA will provide its Collaborative Blockchain Platform to its member banks and other institutions as a testbed environment for applications employing blockchain technology, such as for settlement and funds transfer services, and identity and time-of-transaction authentication."

Starting next month, member banks will begin developing their own applications for the platform, testing out various ideas to determine which are viable for implementation on a real-world basis.

As such, the JBA's members join an increasing number of banks that are testing out blockchain technology as a base for financial services.

Just this week, a joint venture between Ripple Labs and Japanese financial services firm SBI announced it will soon start testing its blockchain-based funds-transfer system between Japanese and South Korean banks.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Ripple.

Fujitsu image via josefkubes/Shutterstock