payments
Digital Garage has launched global services for "AppPay," Japan's No. 1 off-app billing platform that the company has been providing since 2023. This service provides Merchant of Record (MoR) functionality, where Digital Garage acts as the legal sales entity on behalf of game and app operators
payments
Uniqlo announced that it would be shutting down "UNIQLO Pay," the QR code payment feature on its official smartphone app, the "UNIQLO app," in January 2026. "With the diversification of payment methods, the use of QR code payments and credit cards has increased. We have
payments
au Payment and au Financial Services, both 100% owned and consolidated subsidiaries of au Financial Holdings, have decided to merge as of July 1, 2026 (scheduled) for the purpose of centralizing payment business strategy and accelerating business promotion. The intent is for an absorption-type merger with au Payment as the
asset management
SBI Holdings, SBI Securities, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and SMBC Nikko Securities announced on June 16, 2025, the establishment of a preparatory company to plan and provide new joint services, subject to approval by relevant authorities. They have now established Olive Consulting as the next step
cashless
PayPay announced that WeChat Pay (微信支付) will become available for use at PayPay merchants nationwide through HIVEX starting from mid-September this year. “HIVEX®” offers common business rules, system integration for cashless payment providers (MPSP), and a consistent neutral brand, bringing greater scalability at a commercial level to deliver a better
BaaS
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
venture capital
TransBnk has raised $25 million in its Series B funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Arkam Ventures, Fundamentum Partnership, 8i Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, and GMO Venture Partners. This milestone marks a significant step in TransBnk’s journey to reshape the foundations of digital transaction banking.
payments
Digital Garage's (DG) first-quarter results for the fiscal year ending March 2026 present a stark dichotomy that requires careful dissection. The headline figure—a consolidated pre-tax loss of ¥1.3 billion—paints a misleading picture of the company's health, triggering a market sell-off. This loss was
consumer finance
AEON Financial Services has submitted an amended securities report and other documents for the fiscal year ending February 2025 to the Director-General of the Kanto Regional Financial Bureau on July 31, 2025, and has also corrected its financial results summary, as detailed below. As announced on July 9, 2025, regarding
artificial intelligence
Salesforce Japan announced that The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ has selected the autonomous AI agent "Agentforce for Financial Services" specialized for the financial industry. This case represents Japan's first implementation of Agentforce for Financial Services. The Agentforce for Financial Services selected by Mitsubishi UFJ Bank this
payments
Visa Worldwide Japan, SAP Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Card, and Digital Garage have launched an embedded finance solution for B2B payments developed through collaboration between Visa and SAP, marking the first deployment of this solution in Japan during fiscal year 2025 to improve B2B payment efficiency. Visa began collaborating with SAP
consumer finance
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, along with its subsidiaries Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Card, announce the addition of "Money Assist" provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Card to the product lineup of the comprehensive financial service "Olive" offered to individual customers. "Money Assist" is