The blockchain-based commercial payments platform Paystand has signed an MoU with Japanese payment card issuer JCB to build an end-to-end B2B payment solution.
Though $10 trillion is transacted per year in Japan’s B2B payments market, credit cards account for only 1% of all B2B transactions. The losses arising from this antiquated payment system are estimated to range from $500 billion to $1 trillion.
The proposed B2B digital solution allows JCB’s 130 million corporate customers to make payments faster as there will be no intermediaries like banks and credit card companies. The solution will be cloud-based, and transactions will be verified in real-time, which has been found to cut Day Sales Outstanding (DSO) by 60% on average.
The digital solution will be blockchain-based; blockchain is a distributed ledger system where several approvals are needed before a transaction is recorded on the blockchain. The records cannot be changed or erased as any such action will need all the previous approvals again.
Also, a single record of all transactions is maintained on a blockchain and is visible to all the parties. This eliminates misunderstanding and fraud and also helps in settling disputes.
The B2B solution will be built in such a way that it easily integrates with merchants existing work practices.
Commenting on the deal, Jeremy Almond CEO of Paystand said,
Our relationship is another indication that enterprises in all markets are demanding easy, secure, frictionless business payments that leverage digital technology […] we are excited to partner with them to introduce better business payment technology to their customers and other companies throughout Japan and Asia.
The deal with JCB gives Paystand an entry into the untapped Japanese B2B payments market and gives Japanese businesses access to a modern software-based payment system.
Paystand provides mid-size and enterprise-level solutions for digitizing and automating the entire cash cycle. It has expanded operations in Canada and Mexico in the last year.
JCB is a global card issuer and payment brand. It allows payments in hundreds of banks across the world for its merchants and cardholders.
