14 Major Japanese Finance Firms to Begin Blockchain Inheritance Pilot

Fourteen of Japan’s biggest banks and securities companies will begin running a pilot for a blockchain-powered inheritance platform. The pilot, which is being spearheaded by the Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, will begin in mid-February. If successful, financial institutions in the country could aim to roll the solution out before the end of 2020.

Per Nikkei, the Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank has been joined on the project by another Sumitomo Group banking subsidiary, as well as banking arms of financial heavy-hitters such as Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and Nomura Securities.

The project could also simplify the process for individuals wishing to change their name by deed poll – with blockchain technology helping people do away with lengthy, paper-intensive protocols.

But the platform’s primary purpose appears to be simplifying the procedures involved when will issuers, banks and securities companies need to transfer the ownership of assets such as savings, stocks and shares from deceased clients to their legal heirs.

The companies believe that their new blockchain-powered solution is tamper-proof and cost-efficient.

They say that the solution could reduce the time it takes to complete inheritance transfers – a process that typically takes up to five months.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank’s co-owned internet-only bank Sumishin SBI Net Bank has recently begun accepting fast fiat deposits for customers of the Huobi Japan crypto exchange.

And last year, the same Sumitomo banking arm began pilots to test the efficacy of blockchain technology and AI solutions in trust business operations, in conjunction with NEC and IBM.
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