SBI to Roll Out Ripple DLT-Based Payments App on iOS, Android

Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings is soon to launch a payments application for iOS and Android devices powered by Ripple's distributed ledger technology.

Takashi Okita, chief executive of SBI Ripple Asia - a joint venture between SBI Holdings and the San Francisco-based Ripple - revealed the website of the application, named MoneyTap, on Wednesday.

While an exact launch date remains unclear at this stage, the site indicates the application is planned to be available in autumn for both operating systems and used for customers of three domestic banks in Japan.

CoinDesk reported in March that SBI Ripple Asia revealed the project was supported by the Japan Banking Consortium it leads, together with Ripple who lends technological support.

SBI Ripple Asia said at the time that the service would be first rolled out for consumers of SBI Net Sumishin Bank, Suruga Bank and Resona Bank, three members of the consortium.

After an official launch, it expected to expand the service to another 61 members of the banking consortium.

The application will let customers conduct domestic transactions 24 hours a day and seven days a week by using a phone number or scanning QR codes in an effort to eliminate the time constraint imposed by traditional banking methods.

SBI Ripple Asia is not the first major banking firm to roll out a consumer-facing application enabled by Ripple's distributed ledger technology, however.

As reported, global banking giant Santander launched a similar service in April for cross-border foreign exchange among the bank's consumers in Spain, the U.K., Brazil, and Poland.

CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.