The Japanese firm Kyushu Electric Power has announced that it will provide a blockchain platform to the Fukuoka-based regional bank Chikuho Bank to help it digitize the “premium vouchers” for low-income families. Chikuho Bank will, in turn, work with the Ukiha City Chamber of Commerce to distribute the vouchers in the small Japanese city Ukiha. Previously, SBI helped Chikuho Bank to issue a local digital currency, “Changwa” which is being used in the app.
“Premium vouchers” were introduced to Japan in October 2019 to protect low-income families and families with children from the effects of a consumption tax hike. The vouchers are worth 25,000 yen ($234) and limited numbers can be bought by these families for 20,000 yen ($187), with the government covering the rest of the cost.
Two issues with the vouchers have led to a move to digitization. First, estimates say the “printing and distribution costs” of physical vouchers for the government could be very expensive and reach up to 30 billion yen ($281 million). More urgently, the coronavirus crisis has made physical distribution far more difficult and potentially dangerous, with widespread concerns over congestion at distribution points.
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