
TOKYO -- Eager to ensure that digital currencies avoid the type of draining war that took place between supporters of VHS and Betamax videotapes in the 1980s, Japan's big banks are taking steps toward a common format for online payments.
Leaders of the country's three megabanks, Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, have said they can agree on unifying QR code specifications, the basis for electronic payment systems in other countries such as China.