SBI Ripple Asia, a subsidiary of Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings, has launched a "demonstration test" of in-store payments using its Money Tap app before a planned full launch of the new service.

The demo trial will see the money transfer app, which uses Ripple's xCurrent payments product, used for live payments at affiliated merchants and kicks off at a restaurant at SBI Group's headquarters in Roppongi, Tokyo.

The effort is aimed to gauge customer experiences with the app before a public launch "within the year," the firm said Thursday

SBI said that using the app for in-store payments will bring about a "merchant settlement service that combines convenience and security."

Money Tap – said to provide "immediate" transfers for users with accounts at affiliated banks – was first announced last March and launched in October.

Now available for both iOS and Android devices, the product allows funds to be sent using just recipients' telephone numbers or a QR code, and utilizes devices biometric log-in features, such as fingerprint scanning, for security.

In March 2019, SBI added 13 regional banks as co-founders of Money Tap Co., Ltd. The app has also been registered as an electronic payment agent in Japan. Resona, one of three Japanese banks working with SBI and Ripple on the app, pulled out of the project in April, but did not indicate why.

Early in May, Ripple added, Yoshitaka Kitao, president, representative director and CEO of SBI Holdings, to its board.

Money Tap image courtesy of SBI Holdings