Minna Bank and Merpay Sign Business Partnership Agreement for BaaS Business
Minna Bank has signed a business partnership agreement with Merpay to utilize Minna Bank's financial functions and services in the flea market app "Mercari".
Background
Minna Bank upholds "Integrating into everyone's 'lifestyle'" as one of its service concepts, and aims to provide new service experiences where various consumption, purchasing, and financial functions adjacent to daily life are seamlessly connected through co-creation with business partners in the BaaS (Banking as a Service) business.
Merpay operates under the mission of "Creating trust to build a smooth society," promoting "circular finance" with higher degrees of freedom and flexibility by adding the circulation of "money" and "trust" provided by "Merpay" to the circulation of "goods" in the flea market app "Mercari."
By combining the strengths of both companies, the firms have reached an agreement that allows them to provide Merpay customers with unprecedented, highly convenient financial services and realize a new form of BaaS, leading to the signing of this business partnership agreement.
Future Development
Going forward, the companies aim to provide customers with an even more user-friendly financial experience by integrating multiple financial functions and services that Minna Bank possesses into various "Merpay" services. This represents an initiative toward building an advanced BaaS model that is unprecedented in Japan.
The companies are preparing for a service release this winter and also plan to establish a Minna Bank "Partner Branch."
Note that Merpay was registered as an Electronic Payment Agent under the Banking Act (Kanto Local Finance Bureau Director (Electronic Payment) No. 139) on May 26, 2025.
About Smartphone Payment Service "Merpay"
"Merpay" is a smartphone payment service that can be used in the flea market app "Mercari." In addition to sales proceeds from "Mercari," users can charge their "Merpay" balance from bank accounts or ATMs, or use the charge-free deferred payment service "Merpay Smart Payment" to make purchases at stores and EC sites using smartphones. It supports both contactless payment service "iD" and code payments. By issuing the credit card "Mer Card" that makes it easier to increase reward rates when using "Mercari" and "Merpay," users can also use "Merpay" at JCB member stores nationwide.
Norbert Gehrke
