payments

Hokkoku Bank Launches "Smart Plan" Acquiring Service Built on Infcurion’s Cloud Platform "Axios"

Tokyo-based FinTech firm Infcurion, in partnership with CCI Group, announced that regional lender Hokkoku Bank launched its new merchant acquiring service, "Smart Plan," on October 1, 2026. The initiative marks the inaugural commercial deployment of Axios, Infcurion’s next-generation, fully cloud-based acquiring platform.

Key Details of the Deployment

Hardware-Free Processing: Hokkoku Bank’s "Smart Plan" enables merchants to process contactless credit card transactions and QR code payments by installing an application on standard Android smartphones, eliminating the need for dedicated point-of-sale (POS) hardware.
Unified Payment Integration: In a domestic first, the platform consolidates traditional international brand card transactions with local digital currency and deposit-backed stablecoin payments—specifically "Tochika," issued by Hokkoku Bank under the "Tochituka" ecosystem.
Technical Infrastructure: Axios leverages Visa Cloud Connect and Visa Platform Connect to ensure high system uptime and security, offering modular capabilities and API-driven scalability to streamline merchant management and settlement workflows.

Strategic Rationale

Regional financial institutions are increasingly focusing on deposit gathering and fee-based businesses amid Japan's transition to a positive interest rate environment. By deploying a multi-tenant cloud platform, Hokkoku Bank significantly reduces system deployment and operational overhead, allowing it to offer competitive fee structures to small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The "Smart Plan" aims to lower entry barriers for local merchants—such as micro-businesses, mobile vendors, and event stalls—that previously opted out of digital payments due to high initial costs and spatial constraints. Continuous transaction touchpoints through acquiring services serve as a foundational anchor for broader banking relationships across the region.

Infcurion and CCI Group plan to market the Axios platform to other regional banks, payment service providers, and prospective entrants seeking to modernize acquiring infrastructure.

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