Rakuten Group and its banking unit, Rakuten Bank, have agreed to reopen negotiations regarding the reorganization of their financial technology businesses, less than two years after shelving a similar proposal. The companies have executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to integrate Rakuten Bank, Rakuten Card, and Rakuten Securities into a
Progmat has entered into a strategic partnership with Ava Labs (Avalanche) and blockchain interoperability startup Datachain, aiming to accelerate the "financial on-chain" ecosystem by migrating Progmat’s Security Token (ST) platform from a private ledger to the Avalanche public blockchain ecosystem. From Private Consortium to Public Ecosystem Progmat,
Fujitsu is doubling down on its digital transformation strategy for the financial sector, announcing a major reorganization of its "Uvance for Finance" portfolio. The Japanese technology giant aims to generate 200 billion yen in sales from this business segment by the fiscal year ending March 2030, betting heavily
Woodstock has completed a sweeping overhaul of its service model, introducing 24-hour trading capability and completely eliminating transaction fees for US stocks. The announcement was made during a media briefing held in Tokyo, where Woodstock CEO Brian Yun outlined the company’s aggressive strategy to capture the burgeoning interest in
Welcome to the one hundred fifty-second edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. Happy birthday to Emperor Naruhito 🎂 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 lender’s 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 Speeda’s proprietary economic data into MUFG Bank’s 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 Takaichi’s resounding election victory. According to a new report from Sony Financial Group, the market
SBI Securities has announced the upcoming sale of SBI Holdings’ 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,