Ripple makes waves with Japanese money transfer app

SBI Holdings is not quite done with its foray into blockchain. The Japanese financial giant has announced plans to launch a mobile payment app for iOS and Android that will use Ripple’s distributed ledger tech.

So far, all we know is that the app is expected to arrive this Fall and that it will be called Money Tap. This collaboration is part of SBI Ripple Asia, which the two companies founded in 2016 in efforts to develop various blockchain-based fintech solutions.

The announcement comes directly from Takashi Okita, CEO of SBI Ripple Asia, who took to Twitter to share the news.

Translating its website, Money Tap claims to offer easy bank transfers without any extra fees the user. Beyond this, details remain scarce.

Given the nature of SBI Ripple Asia’s business, it’s fair to assume the app will be using some of Ripple’s blockchain tech. What specifically though, remains a mystery for now.

However, I may be reading too much into this, or it may be a bad translation, but calling it a “bank transfer app” doesn’t necessarily suggest that this app will function in a retail setting. Rather it sounds like it will only offer functionality for sending money from one bank to another.

We’ll keep our eyes open and when we know more we’ll be sure to write an update.

Japan certainly looks like it’ll be seeing blockchain and mobile payments cropping up more frequently in future. Recently, Japanese firm SoftBank announced a proof-of-concept that will facilitate peer-to-peer mobile payments around the globe.