SBI Shinsei Bank kicked off a three-month campaign on June 10 that lets depositors collect crypto vouchers worth 20% of their interest payments. The vouchers are redeemable for Bitcoin, Ether, or XRP through SBI VC Trade, the group's crypto exchange. The move comes as Japan's policy rate sits at 0.75% – the highest in decades – with most economists expecting the Bank of Japan to push it to 1.0% by end-June.
The crypto voucher math
The reward is modest. For a ¥1 million (about $6,231) one-year deposit at a hypothetical 1.0% rate, the voucher works out to roughly $10 – 16 basis points of the principal. On a ¥300,000 ($1,850) three-month deposit, the voucher is around $0.75. The campaign covers ordinary deposits and time deposits ranging from three months to five years, affecting some 4.33 million individual accounts.
A tie-up with SBI VC Trade
Customers can't just collect the crypto voucher directly. They have to open an SBI VC Trade account and link it to their deposit account. The structure turns every new depositor into a potential sign-up for the group's crypto exchange. SBI Shinsei and SBI VC Trade have run similar promos before – in September 2025 they offered up to $6 in XRP vouchers plus a share of $623,000 in XRP for opening an SBI Hyper Yokin account. In February 2026 another campaign gave up to $124 in XRP vouchers on six-month PowerDirect yen time deposits.
Rising rates and the hunt for deposits
Japan's households are sitting on a mountain of cash. At end-2025, household financial assets stood at roughly $14.65 trillion, with $7.10 trillion in cash and deposits. The loan-to-deposit ratio hit 65.7% by September 2025, its highest since March 2020. Meanwhile the NISA investment program – tax-free accounts – has pulled in huge sums: cumulative purchases reached about $442 billion by end-2025, well past the government's $349 billion target for 2027.
The Bank of Japan's policy rate is currently 0.75%, with three board members favoring 1.0%. A Reuters poll published June 10 found 94% of economists expect a hike to 1.0% by end-June, and over 75% project 1.25% by Q4. That puts pressure on banks to raise deposit rates and find clever ways to hold onto customers. The crypto voucher campaign is one such experiment.
SBI Shinsei plans a broader rollout this fall. The bank hasn't disclosed whether it will extend the voucher offer or change the terms. What's clear: the group is using its crypto arm to turn ordinary savers into exchange users – one small voucher at a time.
