Hana Financial Group has partnered with Nippon Platform to launch its global alternative payment hub in Japan.

The platform, dubbed Global Loyalty Network (GLN), connects financial institutions, retail companies and loyalty point operators. Accordingly, it enables the partners to transfer digital assets and e-money through a single network.

GLN was launched in 2017 and enables online and in-store mobile payments and remittances across the world. The platform also supports ATM cash withdrawals via mobile.

All transactions are carried out at real-time exchange rates in each country.

Nippon Platform will integrate GLN services with its own services. The system is expected to be available with nearly 100,000 merchants in Japan.

With this collaboration, the partners seek to serve the foreign tourists in Japan. The Asian major is also set to host Olympics and Paralympic Games later this year, when tourist population in the country will significantly increase.

In a statement, NIPPON Platform said: “We estimate that usage of e-wallet, a form of electronic stored value which is used for transactions made online or in-store through a computer or a smartphone, is increasing, and it is expected to become one of the most preferred payment methods alongside credit and debit cards.

“GLN will serve as an integrated hub platform enabling cross-border payments and providing services to the users and companies globally.”

Currently, GLN involves a total of 58 companies from 14 countries.