Last week Sony Bank, the online bank that’s an indirect subsidiary of Sony Group, made two blockchain-related announcements. In the summer, it plans to launch a Sony Bank CONNECT app for NFTs and other web3 entertainment rewards linked to its financial services. It also unveiled a US dollar green finance security token targeted at Japanese customers.
Investors who buy the security tokens may also receive NFTs. The security tokens will be issued on the Securitize private blockchain platform, based on a trust created by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SuMi TRUST).
Through security tokens, investors can lend money to Sony Bank, which will place the funds in the trust. The trust will invest in green projects relating to climate change, water and biodiversity. It may also buy green bonds. The token issuance is fairly small at $1 million, with a minimum $1,000 investment. To qualify for the NFTs, clients must invest and respond to a survey that will likely relate to the CONNECT platform and/or security tokens.
These three organizations were previously involved in a real estate-linked digital securities issuance last year. Both Sony Financial Ventures and SuMi TRUST are investors in Securitize.
Meanwhile, on the Web3 front, investors in the security tokens receive NFTs, which can be traded on the SNFT platform and via the Sony Bank CONNECT app when it launches in the summer. SNFT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony.
According to the bank, the CONNECT app will launch on Android and will initially use Sony’s private blockchain.
On a possibly related note, in January Securitize announced a collaboration with DeCurret, the DCJPY tokenized deposit solution operator. Coincidentally, DCJPY plans to go live this summer as well. At this stage it’s speculation, but Securitize might tokenize Sony Bank’s deposits in the first instance.
