Launch of Loan Digital Platform® Service for Kyoto Bank
SMBC Consumer Finance (SMBCCF), together with NTT DATA, has begun providing the Loan Digital Platform® service to The Bank of Kyoto. This…

SMBC Consumer Finance (SMBCCF), together with NTT DATA, has begun providing the Loan Digital Platform® service to The Bank of Kyoto. This marks the third bank to adopt the service, following Ehime Bank and Mie Bank.
This platform is the industry’s first to achieve automated transmission and retry of reviews between multiple financial institutions and multiple guarantee companies. It aims to digitize traditional processes such as phone, mail, and fax in personal loans, improve the customer experience for loan applicants, and enhance operational efficiency. As a SaaS-type service, financial institutions and guarantee companies can use it for a monthly fee.
Kyoto Bank will use this platform to streamline the business process from application to contract for the “Kyoto Bank Card Loan Direct” with SMBCCF guarantee, and will continue to advance the comprehensive digitization of loan operations in the future.
For this implementation, additionally features have been added that further improve the convenience for bank employees of Kyoto Bank, which will also be provided as standard functions going forward. The partners will continue to expand functionality to meet the needs of financial institutions in the future.
Overview of the Loan Digital Platform
This service provides various functions necessary for personal loan applications to contract signing in a SaaS format for customers using personal loans at financial institutions, as well as for financial institutions and guarantee companies. It contributes to improving customer convenience, increasing the closing rate of loan applications, and reducing administrative costs. The main features are as follows:
Complete from application to contract signing on the web
Provides functions to complete everything from personal loan application to contract signing on the web. It also comes standard with personal authentication using eKYC, providing a mechanism for customers to complete applications with just a smartphone.
Automation of transmission and retry between financial institutions and multiple guarantee companies
With automatic guarantee review request and automatic retry functions, it achieves complete automation from loan reception to review requests to multiple guarantee companies, eliminating the need for fax transmission and punching of received fax contents.
Additionally, by unifying the guarantee company connection interface, data exchange for guarantee reviews is possible without new line installation or interface layout changes for guarantee companies already connected to the platform, contributing to faster new product releases for financial institutions.
Preventing dropouts and improving service quality through UI/UX improvements
Incorporates SMBCCF’s EFO results as a measure to minimize dropouts before completing application registration. This prevents dropouts during form entry, enabling customer acquisition and reduction of CPA (Cost Per Acquisition).
Customer contact support
Enables administrative communications such as input errors or requests for resubmission of necessary documents to customers through a “My Page” opened on the web in conjunction with personal loan applications from customers. Traditionally, customer communication methods were limited to phone, mail, store visits, and fax, but utilizing the web releases both physical and time constraints, leading to operational efficiency and improved customer convenience.
Contributing to improved closing rates through data analysis and promotional services
SMBCCF and NTT DATA provide “data analysis and promotion improvement” by offering quantitative data such as dropout points in application forms and lists of customers eligible for loan increases, contributing to continuous UI/UX improvement and increased closing rates.
Please follow us to read more about Finance & FinTech in Japan, like hundreds of readers do every day. We invite you to also register for our short weekly digest, the “Japan FinTech Observer”, on Medium or on LinkedIn.
We also provide a daily short-form Japan FinTech Observer news podcast, available via its Podcast Page. Our global Finance & FinTech Podcast, “eXponential Finance” is available through its own LinkedIn newsletter, or via its Podcast Page.
Should you live in Tokyo, or just pass through, please also join our meetup. In any case, our YouTube channel and LinkedIn page are there for you as well.