Two Japanese firms will team up to provide internet banking services in the Kingdom.

Recycling firm ReNet Japan Group Inc and Soramitsu Holdings AG, a Japanese venture based in Switzerland, are set to launch their service by spring next year at the earliest, ReNet Japan said in a statement on Thursday.

The two firms will set up a joint operation in the Kingdom by April, with ReNet Japan holding an 80 per cent stake and Soramitsu the rest, the statement said.

“The duo plans to develop a credit-scoring system by combining the payment data of Soramitsu and the loan data of ReNet Japan.”

Soramitsu developed “Project Bakong” – essentially a quasi-form of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) – for the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and has been testing it in a live and confined environment since July 18.

The blockchain-based, peer-to-peer payment and money transfer platform will be launched in the next few months, NBC director-general Chea Serey told The Post last month.

So far, she said, the scheme already has the support of 11 banks, with many more expected to join soon.

Serey described the system as “the national payment gateway for Cambodia”.

“Bakong will play a central role in bringing all players in the payment space in Cambodia under the same platform, making it easy for end-users to pay each other regardless of the institutions they bank with.

“Eventually, we hope to allow cross border payment through the Bakong system too,” she said.