DG Financial Technology Ramps Up "NESTA" Operations, Targeting KDDI Group Payment Infrastructure
Digital Garage (TSE Prime: 4819) and its payment subsidiary, DG Financial Technology (DGFT), announced today the full-scale operational launch of "NESTA," a next-generation payment platform developed in joint partnership with au Financial Service.
The system has officially begun handling billing & settlement processing for the telecommunications charges of au and UQ mobile, two of Japan’s primary mobile carriers under the KDDI umbrella.
Operational Milestones and Strategic Context
The deployment marks a significant milestone in the strategic business alliance established between the companies in May 2024. While the service integration was technically completed in December 2025, the partners underwent a rigorous stability verification phase before formally announcing the full-scale rollout.
"NESTA" is engineered upon the architecture of DGFT’s flagship "VeriTrans4G" multi-payment solution. The platform is designed to meet the highest domestic security standards, featuring a system where credit card information is neither retained nor passed through the merchant’s servers, thereby significantly mitigating data breach risks. Furthermore, the architecture allows for flexible scalability, minimizing the integration burden on adopting companies when service protocols or security requirements evolve.
Future Outlook: Expanding the Ecosystem
Moving forward, DGFT and au Financial Service intend to leverage their partnership to expand NESTA’s footprint. The immediate roadmap includes rolling out the payment system across other diverse services within the KDDI Group, as well as marketing the solution to enterprise clients outside the KDDI ecosystem.
The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of new payment services by fusing the management resources and FinTech expertise of the Digital Garage Group with the market reach of au Financial Service. Both entities are targeting an increased market share in the growing cashless payment sector.
Executive Commentary
Hiroshi Shino, Representative Director of DGFT and Board Director at Digital Garage, commented on the launch: "Approximately two years after its initial conception with our strategic partner, au Financial Service, we have achieved full-scale operation of the NESTA next-generation payment platform. We intend to aggressively promote NESTA not only within the KDDI Group but also to external clients. Starting with this alliance, we will strengthen service proposals utilizing KDDI Group assets to our existing merchants, accelerating value creation for customers on both sides. The Digital Garage Group remains committed to fusing 'Telecommunications' and 'Payments'—critical social infrastructures—to create innovation and convenience."
Technological Backbone: VeriTrans4G
The underlying engine, "VeriTrans4G," is a comprehensive payment gateway facilitating a wide array of settlement methods, including credit cards, convenience store payments, banking transfers, e-money, and QR code payments. It is widely recognized for its robust security features, including tokenization and fraud detection options, making it a standard-bearer for secure, high-volume transaction processing in Japan.
Norbert Gehrke
