Welcome to the one hundred fifty-second edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. Happy birthday to Emperor Naruhito š It's conference week again! If you would like to meet, you will most likely find us at the N.Avenue conference, the Credit Saison Blockchain Summit, the Yield Summit, and MoneyX.
Yamato Credit Finance, the financial subsidiary of the Yamato Transport group, has adopted the "Moneytree Verify" solution for its two-party factoring services. The integration marks a significant shift in the non-bank lending sector, moving away from static, paper-based credit assessments toward real-time, data-driven monitoring. Driving Digital Transformation in
Hokkoku Bank has announced the full-scale launch of integrated loan approval and execution capabilities within its proprietary "IBPlatform," marking a significant step in the regional lenderās digital transformation strategy. Moving beyond the platform's initial scope as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, the new update
In a move to accelerate digital transformation within its corporate banking division, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank (MUFG Bank) has secured an agreement with business intelligence platform Speeda, operated by Uzabase. The partnership involves the integration of Speedaās proprietary economic data into MUFG Bankās newly constructed "Proposal Data Lake,
After a turbulent start to the year marked by a 27-year high in bond yields, the Japanese government bond (JGB) market is beginning to stabilize as investors digest the realities of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichiās resounding election victory. According to a new report from Sony Financial Group, the market
SBI Securities has announced the upcoming sale of SBI Holdingsā inaugural security token (ST) bond, a landmark issuance valued at 10 billion yen. Dubbed the "SBI START Bond," the offering represents the very first asset to be traded on the "START" proprietary trading system (PTS) operated
For this article, we have applied the recently updated "Preparation Guidebook for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs)", published by the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA), to generate an IPO-grade corporate governance policy framework that startups need to complete before conducting an accounting audit. 1. The Strategic Mandate:
Sompo Holdings delivered a robust set of third-quarter results for fiscal year 2025, posting a sharp increase in profitability driven by improved underwriting margins in its domestic property and casualty (P&C) business and sustained growth in overseas operations. Buoyed by lower-than-expected natural catastrophe losses and strong investment returns,
The intersection of generative artificial intelligence and highly regulated financial services represents one of the most critical and heavily contested growth vectors in the contemporary global enterprise software market. Within this rapidly evolving paradigm, OdysseyAI, a specialized technology enterprise established in 2024 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, has emerged as
HiJoJo Partners, an independent asset management firm specializing in democratizing access to global unicorn investments for Japanese investors, has completed its Series B1 funding round. The firm raised approximately 1 billion yen via a third-party allotment, bringing its cumulative equity financing since inception to roughly 2.8 billion yen. This
Link Processing, a subsidiary of Infcurion, has entered a business alliance with credit card issuer Epos Card to address the liquidity constraints and digital stagnation facing Japanās small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The partnership will offer a "Corporate Invoice Card Payment" service to Epos Cardās corporate
The release of the 4th annual Alternative Data Factbook, produced by the Japan Alternative Data Accelerator Association (JADAA) and SOMPO Institute Plus, confirms that the market has successfully navigated its initial volatility. Survey participants have moved decisively past the "pandemic surge"āa period characterized by reactive, uncritical data