Japan’s International Payments System Plans To Test Plastic Cards For CBDC

Japan Credit Bureau (JCB), a Japanese analog to international payments systems like Visa or Mastercard, declared the commencement of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) infrastructure testing. Presumably, the project will prepare the payments platform for a national central bank digital currency, which is presently being tested by the Bank of Japan.

The infrastructure project, declared by the organization in local media, will come under the title JCBDC and intends to adjust the Japan Credit Bureau’s existing credit card infrastructure for central bank digital currency payments. The France-based provider of facial recognition technology IDEMIA and Malaysian Softspace will join forces with JCB in the platform’s development.

The platform will consist of 3 key directions. These include a touch payment solution, a simulation of the working CBDC environment, and an issuance and provision of plastic cards for CBDC. Japan Credit Bureau is also mulling over adjusting the mobile payment tools and QR codes, but in the later stages of testing.

Notably, Japan Credit Bureau is not a newcomer to digital innovations. It commenced a trial of a digital identity interoperability system based on blockchain tech in association with Fujitsu Laboratories in 2020.