AZ-COM Maruwa, a major Japanese logistics group and Amazon delivery partner, plans to pay approximately 2,300 partner carriers and independent drivers using JPYC, a yen-backed stablecoin, according to reporting from Nikkei. The rollout is expected to mark Japan's first large-scale corporate use of JPYC for employee and contractor payments.
Maruwa also plans to invest ¥1 billion in JPYC and form a business partnership with the stablecoin's issuer. The investment and payment partnership represent the first significant adoption of a stablecoin for payroll operations at scale in Japan's corporate sector.
JPYC received approval from Japan's Financial Services Agency in 2023, becoming the first yen-backed stablecoin to clear FSA oversight. The stablecoin has since struggled to gain traction in Japan's retail and corporate markets, where traditional banking and existing digital payment rails remain dominant.
Maruwa's logistics network spans Japan and handles deliveries for Amazon and other e-commerce platforms. The shift to JPYC payments for its carrier network would reduce settlement friction and foreign exchange costs compared to traditional banking channels, particularly for independent drivers who may lack corporate bank accounts.
The scale of the rollout, 2,300 carrier counterparties, exceeds any prior corporate JPYC deployment announced in Japan. Stablecoin adoption among enterprises globally has remained limited outside cryptocurrency trading and remittance corridors, with regulatory uncertainty and incumbent payment infrastructure presenting barriers to broader use.
