MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
The three megabanks, with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, Mitsubishi Corporation and Progmat, said they would test whether several banking groups can jointly issue a yen stablecoin lawfully, as the first case in the FSA's Payment Innovation Project.
- Status
- Live
- Announced
- (announcement)
- Original title
- 「FinTech実証実験ハブ・決済高度化プロジェクト（PIP）」支援決定案件について
- Stage
- Test
- Chain or network
- unknown (a blockchain built by TISI for SMBC in the July 2026 test)
- Participants
- Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, Mitsubishi Corporation, Progmat, TISI
- Next review
Scorecard
As of the review on . How pilots are scored
| Ledger | Unknown |
|---|---|
| Settlement | Stablecoin |
| Access | Closed |
| Legal standing | Token is the legal record |
| Scale | Single transaction |
What they said they would do
- OpenTest, from November 2025, whether several banking groups jointly issuing a stablecoin (an electronic payment instrument) can meet regulatory and operational requirements lawfully and appropriately; the FSA to publish the findings after the test.
Decisions
Expanded
The FSA took on, as Payment Innovation Project case 4, a test by TradeWaltz, NTT Data, the three megabanks and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking of settling trade payments in the stablecoin the banks plan to issue jointly.
Source: fsa.go.jp
Review history
Live Test
The banks ran a test issuance on 17-23 July 2026 for cross-border payments between Mitsubishi Corporation's offices, under a trust with the three banks as joint settlors and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust as trustee. In June 2026 they said they aim to start real transactions in fiscal 2026. The FSA has not yet published findings, so the claim stays open.
Evidence: tr.mufg.jp, bk.mufg.jp, fsa.go.jp
What was announced
On 7 November 2025 the Financial Services Agency (FSA) opened the Payment Innovation Project (PIP) inside its FinTech Proof-of-Concept Hub and named its first case: a test by Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking and Progmat of whether several banking groups can jointly issue a stablecoin, classed as an electronic payment instrument, while meeting regulatory and operational requirements lawfully and appropriately. The test runs from November 2025 for the time being, and the FSA said it would publish the compliance and supervisory points the test identifies.
How it works
The banks issue the coin through a trust: the three banks are joint settlors, a trust bank is trustee, and each token is a specified trust beneficiary interest under Article 2(9) of the Payment Services Act, so legal is native. The FSA’s 30 September 2026 briefing paper says the backing is bank deposits and the coin is meant to pass between customers who have passed identity checks. In the July 2026 test SMBC provided a blockchain built for it by TISI, and TISI integrated the wallet and issuance system; the network is not named, so ledger is unknown. Only the test participants held the coin, so access is closed.
Record so far
On 10 June 2026 the three banks said they would aim to start real transactions with the coin in fiscal 2026, which ends in March 2027, and agreed to set up a council on its governance, issuance platform and scheme. From 17 to 23 July 2026 they ran a test issuance, with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust as trustee, covering issuance, transfer and redemption for cross-border payments between Mitsubishi Corporation’s offices in Japan and abroad, and anti-money-laundering checks for that use. They reported on 16 October 2026 that the test confirmed the joint-issuance model was feasible. On 29 September 2026 the FSA took on a fourth PIP case in which TradeWaltz and NTT Data test settling trade payments in the coin.
What to watch
The first real transaction, promised for fiscal 2026 (by 31 March 2027), which would move stage to pilot. The chain the production coin runs on. The FSA’s published findings, which would settle the claim.