Japan to Figure Out the Ideal Model for 'Digital Yen'

A consortium that would be formed to streamline and interoperate the services of banks and cashless payment providers in envisioned to introduce the "digital yen."

The BOJ has started feasibility studies with the European Central Bank and other central banks to introduce digital yen.

Hiromi Yamaoka, a former senior BOJ official who will serve as chairman of the consortium, said they will still determine the digital yen's ideal model.

The consortium participants will introduce measures in making cashless payments more convenient for customers.

They will discuss how to integrate their services to improve user-friendliness and the utilization of blockchain technology to protect digital transaction records.

The consortium plans to draw up proposals and present them to the government and the BOJ.

The participating banks in the consortium would be Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Mizuho Financial Group Inc., and Seven Bank.

The other participants in the consortium are East Japan Railway Co., mobile phone service operator KDDI Corp., and Tokyo-based DeCurret Inc., which will serve as the secretariat of the consortium.

East Japan Railway, is the issuer of the Suica travel card, which is also used for cashless payment.

The People's Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, is progressing "smoothly" with the development of digital currency, while US-based Facebook plans to introduce its Libra virtual currency.