SBI Reveals Joint Blockchain Remittance Venture With South Korean Startup

South Korean bitcoin exchange Coinplug has announced a new joint remittance venture with the fintech subsidiary of Japan-based investment group SBI.

The joint venture, dubbed SBI Cosmoney, is expected to launch its remittance service last this year, the two firms said. Coinplug is working with SBI FinTech Solutions Co., which is part of the wider SBI business group that has invested in a number of blockchain startups.

That the two firms would launch a dedicated blockchain effort is perhaps unsurprising, given that SBI participated in Coinplug's $5 million funding round in October 2015.

In a statement, Coinplug CEO Ryan Uhr said that the goal of the partnership was to "create an overseas remittance service that connects Korea to the world". Founded in 2013, Coinplug offers a bitcoin exchange, electronic wallet, and online point-of-sales service for Korean users.

According to the announcement, the new venture will be supported in part by a separate remittance venture, SBI Remit, which has been in operation since 2010. The experience of that venture, SBI said, will be of great help to the new venture."

Coinplug has worked on other blockchain-based remittance projects in the past.

In late 2015, CoinDesk reported that the startup was developing a prototype focused on international payments with KB Koomkin, one of the country's largest financial institutions.

Image Credit: TA MIN HO / Shutterstock.com