As per an announcement by SBI Motor Japan, its customers can pay in Bitcoin and Ripple (XRP) for their purchases. SBI exports about 5,000 used cars annually, mostly to Africa. SBI motor Japan is a subsidiary of SBI Africa Co., Ltd.
After the company announced on Monday, many turned their heads—since it became the first car dealership and an e-commerce website to do so. It will also be deployed on a cross-border e-commerce website in Japan. The transactions will be settled on a cryptocurrency exchange owned by the SBI Group. It will use the necessary security methods to prevent terrorist financing and money laundering using crypto.
The car export company is presently contacting its business partners to verify that they follow corporate regulations and Anti-Money Laundering (AML).
The move comes after increasing demand for cryptocurrencies in Africa after nations like CAR have accepted BTC as a legal tender. Over 1.7 billion people across the world are excluded from basic financial services like holding a bank account and Africa is one the biggest contributors to that number. As per CAR government officials, crypto will help in financial inclusion.