Japan’s Financial Services Agency has selected a stablecoin trade-settlement pilot involving MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation for regulatory support. The watchdog announced the decision on September 29 under its Payment Innovation Project, a program supporting payment experiments.
TradeWaltz, NTT DATA and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation are also participating. According to the pilot outline, exporters would submit shipping documents through TradeWaltz, with a bank’s approval to purchase their export receivables triggering settlement through a connected stablecoin platform.
The initial scope covers transactions between exporters and banks, using a stablecoin being jointly considered by the participating financial institutions. The companies aim to test whether linking trade documentation with payments can reduce manual processing and speed up settlement. Extending the system to importers and their banks remains a potential later step.
The FSA lists the trial period as beginning in September 2026, without a fixed end date. Participants will examine operational and legal issues, and the regulator plans to publish findings after completion. The announcement supports testing but does not set a commercial launch date.
The initiative follows Japan’s megabanks’ broader plans for commercial stablecoin payments. The participants also intend to explore linking electronic bills of lading with stablecoins and using smart contracts for escrow, building on the export-payment experiment.
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