Japan Credit Bureau will test its credit card infrastructure for CBDC transactions.
Japan Credit Bureau (JCB), a Tokyo-based international payment company, has reportedly begun central bank digital currency (CBDC) infrastructure testing.
According to the news report shared by the local news portal New Economy, the project, called JCBDC, aims to test JCB's “existing credit card infrastructure and card-shaped interface for CBDC transactions.”
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The project will be a collaboration between JCB, French identity-related security service company IDEMIA and Malaysian fintech company Softspace.
The JCBDC will focus on identifying solutions for “utilization of touch payment infrastructure provided by JCB, provision of cards for CBDC and building a simulated CBDC handling environment." Moreover, later, JCB will work on adjusting the mobile payment tools and QR codes.
The news report noted that the Tokyo restaurant employees will make purchases and evaluate the infrastructure's reliability and if it can be used nationwide.
JCB highlighted that CBDC testing is vital. The Credit Bureau said that when CBDC becomes available for general retail use, it will face challenges such as “integration with existing payment infrastructure and friendly to a wide range of users, including those who do not use smartphones, such as the elderly and children.” Therefore, testing is nevertheless necessary.
JCB plans to launch its CBDC payment solutions by the end of 2022. The demonstration and experiments on using the technology in actual merchant stores are expected to start at the end of March 2023.
On top of that, this year, the second phase of CBDC testing should take place. Based on some reports, at this stage, authorities will examine the technical aspects of the digital yen. According to some reports, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor allegedly claimed that the digital yen should reach the public by 2026.
In other news, Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) and Financial Services Agency (FSA) asked Japanese crypto businesses to stay alert for possible “phishing” attacks initiated by the North Korean Lazarus group.
