AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings, a Japanese logistics company that handles Amazon Japan deliveries, has completed a strategic investment in JPYC, Japan’s first yen stablecoin issuer. The two companies plan to build a payment system using the yen coin within Amazon Japan’s logistics network. Analysts expect this to accelerate the use of stablecoins for business-to-business (B2B) payments.
According to major foreign media on the 6th, JPYC recently raised a total of 6 billion yen (about 54 billion won) in an extended Series B round. In this round, AZ-COM Maruwa, which handles Amazon Japan logistics, participated as a strategic investor, contributing about 1 billion yen.
The investment is an extension of a capital and business alliance the two companies signed last month. At the time, AZ-COM Maruwa agreed to secure about a 2.9% stake in JPYC and to pursue cooperation on using the yen coin for logistics payments.
JPYC is the first yen-linked stablecoin launched under Japan’s Payment Services Act in October last year. It holds bank deposits and Japanese government bonds as reserve assets to maintain a one-to-one value with the yen. As of mid-July this year, its on-chain circulation exceeded 2 billion yen.
The two companies plan to build a system that pays transportation fees and commissions in JPYC to about 2,300 partner firms, including subcontractors and truck drivers working within Amazon Japan’s logistics network. This is the first case in Japan of a stablecoin being used for large-scale B2B payments. The plan is to build a blockchain-based payment platform to automate the small, repetitive payments that occur in the logistics sector and lower settlement costs.
Nikkei Asia reported that “AZ-COM Maruwa aims to improve the cash flow of drivers and small transport operators in response to Japan’s labor shortage, an aging workforce, and tightened overtime regulations,” adding that the company “plans to enhance the appeal of transport contracts by enabling stablecoins to be converted into yen virtually instantly and without fees.”