One of Japan's largest payment infrastructure providers is deepening its embrace of blockchain technology as the country's digital asset ecosystem enters an accelerated growth phase, positioning Avalanche's enterprise-focused infrastructure at the center of a potential transformation of Japanese financial services.
TIS Inc., which processes over ¥300 trillion (approximately $2 trillion) annually through its PAYCIERGE payment system - representing roughly half of Japan's credit card transactions - has partnered with Ava Labs and leading global institutions to explore blockchain-based payment solutions, stablecoins, and tokenized assets under Japan's revised Payment Services Act.
A Payment Infrastructure Powerhouse Goes Blockchain
TIS's existing scale in Japan's financial ecosystem is difficult to overstate. The Tokyo-based company powers payment systems for 11 of the top 26 credit card companies by transaction volume in Japan, representing approximately 200 million cardholders. Its branded debit processing service commands an 86% market share of Japanese payment processors, handling 770 million debit card transactions valued at ¥3.3 trillion annually.
Now, this legacy infrastructure giant is building the next generation of its payment platform using AvaCloud, Avalanche's enterprise blockchain deployment service. The move reflects what John Nahas, Chief Business Officer at Ava Labs, describes as a uniquely Japanese approach to blockchain adoption.
"TIS's platform reflects a growing trend in Japan where legacy financial institutions are embracing blockchain not to disrupt the current system, but to upgrade it," Nahas told CoinDesk, highlighting how traditional players are integrating programmable finance capabilities into existing infrastructure rather than attempting wholesale replacement.
The SMBC-TIS-Avalanche Stablecoin Initiative
The centerpiece of TIS's blockchain strategy involves a major collaboration with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Japan's second-largest bank managing $1.7 trillion in assets, along with digital asset infrastructure provider Fireblocks and Ava Labs.
Announced in April 2025 through a Memorandum of Understanding, the partnership aims to develop comprehensive infrastructure for stablecoin issuance and circulation, initially targeting wholesale payments between financial institutions and businesses. According to SMBC Group's official statements, the collaboration will explore stablecoin use cases for cross-border payments and settlement activities, with pilot testing scheduled for late 2025 or early 2026, followed by potential live issuance in 2026.
TIS serves as the "overall coordinator" for the technical implementation, leveraging its extensive experience in both blockchain development and financial system integration. The company has been researching blockchain as a next-generation payment platform since 2016, positioning it well ahead of many competitors in understanding both the technology and regulatory landscape.
"TIS has an impressive depth of knowledge in the blockchain and finance space," an SMBC representative noted, highlighting the company's participation in the Bank of Japan's CBDC Forum and its work on security token implementations.
Why Avalanche for Japanese Institutions
The selection of Avalanche's infrastructure reflects specific technical and regulatory requirements that Japanese financial institutions prioritize. According to TIS's Web3 Business Planning Department, traditional public blockchains lacked the reliability, security, performance, and access controls that enterprise applications demand.
"The emergence of Avalanche for enterprise-grade applications opened the way for financial institutions and businesses to make full use of a public blockchain platform," explained Go Nakagawa, a Fellow at TIS's Web3 Business Planning Department.
Avalanche's architecture enables the creation of application-specific, regulation-compliant blockchains with granular permission settings - critical for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) compliance. The platform's AvaCloud service allows enterprises to deploy custom Layer 1 blockchains without hiring blockchain specialists, with guaranteed service-level agreements and 24/7 support.
The system can handle over 50,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality - performance characteristics designed to meet the demanding standards of Japan's financial sector, where reliability and speed are non-negotiable.
Japan's Regulatory Catalyst: The Revised Payment Services Act
The timing of TIS's blockchain expansion aligns with Japan's regulatory evolution. In 2023, Japan amended its Payment Services Act, officially recognizing stablecoins as "electronic payment instruments" and creating unprecedented regulatory clarity for digital asset payments.
This legal framework paved the way for JPYC, which became the first money transfer business licensed to issue a yen-backed stablecoin under the revised regulations. JPYC launched on Avalanche, bringing the stability of the yen onto a programmable blockchain for the first time with full regulatory oversight.
"With this regulatory clarity, Japan's institutions and businesses began to explore use cases for cross-border payments and settlement activities, bolstering the region for modernization," said Roi Hirata, Head of Japan at Ava Labs.
Beyond Payments: Tokenization and CBDCs
While stablecoins represent the immediate focus, TIS's blockchain platform is being designed with broader capabilities in mind. The company's work encompasses tokenized deposits - digital representations of bank account balances on blockchain rails - and potential central bank digital currency (CBDC) applications.
Japan has been actively researching CBDCs through the Bank of Japan, where TIS participates in technical discussions. The company's experience with smart contract development and security audits positions it as a key infrastructure provider for whatever digital currency initiatives emerge from these governmental explorations.
AvaCloud CEO Nick Mussallem suggests that successful implementation could make TIS's platform "the backbone of Japan's broader push toward a digital financial system," supporting use cases from real-time settlements to embedded finance applications.
The Broader Japanese Blockchain Boom
TIS's move into blockchain infrastructure reflects accelerating institutional adoption across Japan's financial sector. The country's blockchain market is projected to expand from $499 million in 2022 to nearly $75 billion by 2030 - representing an 88.8% compound annual growth rate.
Cashless payment adoption has surged from 13% in 2010 to 42.8% in 2024, exceeding the government's 40% target a year ahead of schedule. This digital-first consumer behavior creates fertile ground for blockchain-based payment innovations.
Japan's three largest banks - Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and Mizuho Financial Group - are all actively developing stablecoin initiatives. MUFG's Progmat platform already supports stablecoin issuance across multiple blockchains including Avalanche, with the banking consortium targeting issuance of ¥1 trillion ($6.64 billion) in stablecoins over the next three years.
Technical Implementation and Smart Contract Expertise
TIS brings critical technical capabilities to blockchain implementation that extend beyond simple integration work. The company's Web3 Business Planning Department conducts smart contract security audits in-house - a rare capability that reflects the serious approach Japanese institutions take toward blockchain security.
The company's experience with mission-critical financial systems, where downtime is measured in seconds and security breaches are unacceptable, translates directly to blockchain infrastructure requirements.
TIS's role includes not just deploying smart contracts for stablecoin issuance and distribution, but ensuring these systems meet financial institution-grade standards for reliability and compliance.
Global Ambitions With Asian Focus
While immediate initiatives focus on Japan, TIS has stated intentions to "collaborate with diverse players including financial institutions, corporations, and government agencies to promote the global adoption and ecosystem development of this next-generation financial infrastructure originating from Japan," according to Managing Executive Officer Isao Otokita.
The company has already expanded its payment expertise to Southeast Asia, working on financial inclusion initiatives across the ASEAN region. Its blockchain platform could provide similar infrastructure for digital payments and asset tokenization in markets where traditional banking penetration remains limited.
Final thoughts
TIS's embrace of Avalanche exemplifies a broader trend where enterprise blockchain adoption is accelerating not through cryptocurrency speculation, but through practical applications in payments, settlements, and asset tokenization.
"Stablecoins aim to transform how banks and businesses operate, especially across borders," explained John Nahas of Ava Labs. The ability to move value instantly, 24/7, without traditional correspondent banking delays or fees represents genuine operational improvement rather than theoretical disruption.
For a company processing $2 trillion annually through legacy payment rails, even marginal efficiency gains translate to substantial value. But the bigger opportunity lies in enabling entirely new use cases - programmable payments, atomic swaps, and tokenized assets - that weren't feasible with previous technology.
As Japan's digital asset ecosystem matures under clear regulatory frameworks, TIS's blockchain infrastructure may become the invisible backbone enabling the next generation of financial services - much as its PAYCIERGE platform currently powers half of Japan's credit card economy today.