It’s no secret that the crypto scene in Japan is developing at an exponential rate, thanks to the friendly crypto regulations being established in the country as well as banks on the way to launching their very own stable coins plus many others.
The latest news from the crypto-friendly country is from the most significant railway company, East Japan Railway Company (JR East). According to local news sources, the company is considering to soon enable the Japanese commuters a well as tourists to pay for journeys with various cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
Cryptocurrency Payment System via the Suica Smartcard
The railway operator wants to move alongside the changing world as now it’s considering a crypto payment system to be integrated into their payment cards. To ensure that they successfully make it possible, JR East has already invested in a famous Japanese cryptocurrency exchange dealer DeCurrent that was only recently approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FSA).
With the help of the exchange, JR East would then integrate crypto payments to the Suica payment card which is the famous card in the country hosting up to more than 70 million folks. With the cards, individuals will be able to access various services such as paying transport fees.
Besides, the e-money feature of the card could be used for buying a plethora of items like soft drinks, coffee at vending machines as well as newspapers at station kiosks. The primary objective of the card is to provide commuters a more pleasant trip.
Mass Adoption Boosted
As stated above, as per the reports, the current number of people already using the Suica card is more than 70 million. Therefore, if JR East succeeds in integrating the card with cryptocurrency, it goes without saying that over 70 million individuals could be using cryptocurrency payments in bitcoin and other cryptos.
It’s clear that JR East wants to consider and cater to all their customer’s needs, including those that want to pay for services with the digital currency.
DeCurrent Exchange: The Wheel for the Accomplishment of JR East’s Ambitions
Suica cards currently don’t have options of being topped up with cryptocurrencies. Therefore, those options have to be integrated first, and DeCurrent exchange is the one responsible. Only a few weeks ago, they launched a payment system which Kazuhiro Tokita, president, and representative director of the exchange said would be integrated with Suica card.
However, no timeline yet has been given for implementation of the system on Suica. Besides, JR East is only considering the option and has not provided clear plans as well for the rollout. DeCurrent will debut trading in mid-April and already supports cryptos such as Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Ripple (XRP).
Blockchain technology is slowly but slowly getting into the mainstream ecosystem, and the success of the project by JR East will only boost its adoption.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.
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