AZ-COM Maruwa to Pilot JPYC Stablecoin for Driver Pay

AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings will pay about 2,300 subcontractors and independent truck drivers in JPYC, a regulated yen-pegged stablecoin, and is considering an investment of more than ¥1 billion in JPYC Inc. The company is listed in Tokyo and reported ¥230.5 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended March 2026. Its delivery network handles third-party logistics, transportation, warehousing and last-mile delivery for major e-commerce clients, including Amazon Japan.

The company plans to settle transportation fees and compensation across its delivery network in JPYC rather than by conventional bank transfers. AZ-COM Maruwa has not released a rollout timetable or detailed technical and operational steps for onboarding contractors and partners.

JPYC is issued under Japan’s Payment Services Act and launched on October 27, 2025. The token is backed 1:1 by bank deposits and Japanese government bonds. On-chain circulation of JPYC exceeded ¥2 billion in mid-July 2026; an investment of more than ¥1 billion would equal roughly half of that supply and would make AZ-COM Maruwa a major backer of the issuer.

JPYC transfers carry no per-transfer fees and settle near-instantly. The company expects fee-free, faster payouts to allow more frequent payments than current bank rails, shortening payment cycles for owner-operators who often wait weeks for monthly settlements.

Noritaka Okabe, founder and chief executive of JPYC Inc., described the potential arrangement as part of efforts to integrate stablecoins into logistics and commercial payment flows. JPYC has also been trialed for consumer checkout at a major convenience-store chain, extending use cases into retail and business payments.

Several operational and regulatory questions remain. AZ-COM Maruwa has not explained how partners will receive, store or convert JPYC, whether recipients will hold tokens for transactions or redeem them immediately for yen, or how accounting and tax rules will apply to sole proprietors receiving stablecoin income. Off-ramp liquidity for thousands of contractors is a practical constraint on adoption and could affect scaling.

No formal agreement has been announced. Any final outcome will depend on operational design, contractor uptake and regulatory clarity on accounting and taxation for stablecoin payments.