Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the second-largest banking institution in Japan, has partnered with SBI Holdings to build a Blockchain-based financial service platform, according to Nikkei on January 30.
SMBC will invest in a related company under the SBI to spread the distributed ledger services that incorporate trade finance and individual bank remittances. Megabank, which has a strong customer base, and Net Securities, which are strong at FinTech, will collaborate to accelerate efforts.
As part of the tie-up, the mega-bank decided to invest in the blockchain-powered payments app MoneyTap, which was developed by Ripple and SBI Holdings. This comes after Fukushima Bank and a slew of other regional banking institutions decided to integrate the app.
MoneyTap allows its users to send money with the help of telephone numbers or QR codes. However, it is worth noting that it doesn’t use the XRP token.
India consumer lending startup MoneyTap said Monday it has raised billion rupees (US$70 million) in its series B funding round led by Aquiline Technology Growth (ATG), RTP Global, and Sequoia Capital India, along with Japanese and Korean funds.
MoneyTap competes with consumer lending companies such as Capital Float, Paysense, FlexiLoans, and Lendingkart. Earlier this month, Naspers-backed fintech giant PayU acquired a controlling stake in Paysense and announced plans to invest US$200 million in the company.
Apart from MoneyTap, SMFG will also invest in R3’s Corda platform in Japan. This is expected to give a significant boost to Corda’s adoption in one of the biggest crypto hubs.
SBI Holdings formed a joint blockchain venture in Japan with the US-based software company back in January 2019.
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