It has taken more than a century, but Japanese banks are finally parting ways with a piece of technology that hasn't felt cutting edge since the shogun reigned.
Hanko, the personal stamps required for even simple transactions in the country since the 1800s, are getting phased out at some of the country's biggest financial institutions.
Lenders have begun allowing customers to transfer money or make payments with their smartphones or tablets, instead of pressing wood to ink and paper like their ancestors. For millennials in Japan, one of the most tech-obsessed places on Earth, the change is long overdue.
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