Japan’s SBI is using XRP to solve a banking problem
SBI Shinsei Bank is testing crypto-linked deposit rewards: customers can receive vouchers equal to 20% of deposit interest, redeemable for BTC, ETH, or XRP via SBI VC Trade. The initial three-month campaign began June 10, with a wider rollout planned for fall and coverage across ordinary and term deposits, reaching about 4.33 million accounts. The move reflects intensifying competition for Japanese household savings as BOJ rates rise, NISA investing expands, and banks can no longer rely on captive deposits. SBI keeps deposits in yen and uses crypto as a loyalty hook, turning depositors into potential crypto-exchange customers if they open SBI VC Trade accounts. The design borrows from credit-card and airline-mile rewards: a small perk on a low-margin product can be cheaper than lifting rates across the whole book. Prior SBI promotions used similar XRP vouchers for deposits and tokenized bonds. The broader test is whether crypto rewards can become a repeatable retention tool across SBI’s banking, securities, and payments businesses.
