Japanese Financial Giant MUFG to Launch Digital Currency in 2020

Japan’s largest banking firm, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), is set to issue a digital currency in the second half of this year.

• The cryptocurrency will be issued in collaboration with Recruit Group, a major Japanese holding firm that operates restaurant-finding service Hot Pepper Gourmet and many more.
• The news was revealed by the company's president, Hironori Kamezawa, in an interview with Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun last week.
• The digital currency will be initially utilized in a smartphone payment app for member companies listed on Recruit's website, as per the report.
• Recruit has around 1 million member stores, according to its own figures.
• The firm is the parent company of job-seekers' site Indeed and employer review site Glassdoor.
• Kamezawa said while there could be delays, it may be a good time to launch the digital currency in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
• While only Recruit members will be allowed to participate initially, Kamezawa said the initiative could one day be used more widely by non-Recruit site member stores, too.
• In December 2019, MUFG downplayed reports of a digital currency launch, saying that while it had entered into a joint venture agreement with Recruit, “no other decision” had been made at the time.
• MUFG is the world's fifth largest bank and second largest bank holding company, according to Wikipedia.
• It has previously partnered with other Japanese firms to research security tokens, and backed a $14 million funding round for tech token company Securitize last September.

Also read: Japan’s Biggest Banks Are Talking About Building a Digital Payments System