TOKYO -- Japan's Mizuho Financial Group will launch its digital currency service March 1 under plans announced Wednesday, leveraging direct links to users' bank accounts to fight off outside players in the heated market for cashless payments.
The megabank is teaming up with 60 or so fellow financial institutions spanning most of the country. They together host a combined 56 million user accounts, which serve directly as digital wallets on the J-Coin Pay platform.
