Fujitsu is collaborating with Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial to conduct a joint field trial of a person-to-person money transfer service using blockchain technology.
The trial, which will begin in January 2018 and run for three months, will test a cloud-based blockchain platform for money transfers between individuals, as well as a smartphone application for sending money and for making deposits and withdrawals.
The news follows last month's announcement of plans by the Japanese Bankers Association to employ a Fujitsu cloud platform as a testbed for blockchain experimentation by member banks. The service service sits on top of Fujitsu's cloud platform, K5, and is powered by Hyperledger Fabric, one of the blockchain frameworks hosted by The Linux Foundation.
Fujitsu has also worked in the past with Mizuho on the use of blockchain technology to streamline the settlement of cross-border securities transactions.