Japan FinTech Observer | Tontines | ex-Goldman & Barclays Tech MD
banking
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC Group) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) have announced that, with regards to the agreement to acquire a 20% equity stake in YES BANK from State Bank of India and other financial institutions, all conditions precedent including regulatory approvals have been satisfied and this initial
stablecoin
Densan System has concluded a basic agreement with JPYC Corporation for a joint study toward the social implementation of payment, remittance, and settlement services utilizing the Japanese yen stablecoin "JPYC". Overview of This Agreement Both companies will iteratively develop use cases for B2C/B2B payments and inter-company settlements
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred twenty-ninth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. The Bank of Japan will hold its Monetary Policy Meeting on September 18 & 19, following the FOMC in the US. The consensus expectation is for the Bank to keep its policy rate on hold this time; beyond
CBDC
The Deutsche Bundesbank Representative Office, jointly with Japan's Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan, held an event titled "CBDC Insights: Digital Euro and Japan's Approach" on Thursday, September 11, 2025, on the occasion of Burkhard Balz's visit, the board member
compliance
TOPPAN Edge, a TOPPAN Group company and wholly owned subsidiary of TOPPAN Holdings, was certified by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) as the first Japanese Qualified vLEI Issuer (QVI) in the verifiable Legal Entity Identifier (vLEI) ecosystem. In November this year, TOPPAN Edge will launch vLEI-Gateway™, a vLEI
security token
SBI Digital Markets (SBIDM), Samara Alpha Asset Management (Samara Alpha), and Bracket Labs Group (Bracket) have forged a strategic alliance with the objective of reshaping the tokenized securities market. Through the collaboration, Samara Alpha will leverage Bracket’s technology platform to assist in actively unlocking access to yield strategies while
AML
Compliance Data Lab has announced the implementation of "Compliance Station® UBO" at West Japan City Bank. This system utilizes the high-quality corporate database of Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR) to instantly provide Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) information online. The introduction of "Compliance Station® UBO" will streamline West
private equity
This week, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has published a new paper out of the "Bank of Japan Review" series, examining the recent trends in Private Equity (PE) and Private Debt (PD) funds, which have significantly expanded their assets under management (AUM) since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)
stablecoin
Nudge will begin accepting repayments in the stablecoin "JPYC" issued by JPYC for its next-generation credit card "Nudge Card" starting October 2025 (approximately one month after JPYC's business registration completion). This will enable "stablecoin shopping" at approximately 150 million VISA member stores
stablecoin
SBI Shinsei Bank is preparing to launch a digital currency for its corporate clients, with a target launch around fiscal 2026. By connecting to a global payment network pioneered by a leading U.S. financial institution, the bank aims to provide instant and low-cost international transactions, leveraging modern financial technology
Insurance
MS&AD Insurance Group's subsidiaries—Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (MSI) and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance (ANDI)—have submitted their quarterly progress report on executing the business improvement plans mandated by Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA). The plans address root causes of past misconduct, including price-fixing (insurance
joint venture
Zodia Custody, the institutional digital asset custodian backed by Standard Chartered, and Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings have mutually agreed to terminate their much-anticipated joint venture, "SBI Zodia Custody," nearly two years after its inception. The venture, which aimed to provide bank-grade crypto-asset custody for institutions in Japan,