payments
Travel Wallet’s formal entry into the Japanese market takes the localized South Korean FinTech into the realm of a highly competitive environment against legacy banks over cross-border FX. By exporting its proprietary payment rails to Tokyo, the firm is signaling that its ambitions lie in becoming a foundational provider
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred sixty-second edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. This week, we are excited to have new subscribers join us from BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, KPMG, the Central Bank of Egypt, and Paytm, among others 🙏 We are writing to you today from historic Samarkand, where the Asian Development
payments
Japanese municipal administrations increasingly prioritize fiscal and data autonomy. Moving away from general-purpose, third-party payment applications, forward-thinking districts are now investing in dedicated regional platforms that allow for more granular control over local economic ecosystems. Within this trend, Tokyo’s Kita Ward has announced the selection of Pocket Change Inc.
payments
GLN International, the cross-border fintech subsidiary of Hana Bank, has expanded its QR-based cash withdrawal network across Japan, Vietnam, and Laos. The move aims to streamline the travel experience by allowing users to bypass traditional currency exchanges and physical debit cards in favor of local mobile applications. The expansion highlights
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred sixty-first edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. This week, we are excited to have new subscribers join us from the Bank of England, the Central Bank of Ireland, the Dubai Police Academy, Harvard Law School, and BBVA Asset Management en España, among others 🙏 We are
banking
The fiscal year ending February 28, 2026, represented a critical "foundational building" phase for AEON Financial Service, set against the backdrop of Japan’s historic pivot from a zero-interest-rate environment to a "world with interest rates." While top-line expansion remained resilient, the period was defined by
payments
Digital Garage Group, through its payment subsidiary DG Financial Technology (DGFT), is executing a targeted vertical expansion designed to capture value in Japan's most resistant cash-heavy sectors. By embedding its proprietary "Cloud Pay" infrastructure into specialized B2B and B2C workflows, the group is transitioning from a
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred sixtieth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. This week, we are excited to have new subscribers join us from Rothschild & Co, France's Ministère de l'Intérieur, the Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, the International Islamic University, Islamabad, and the Asian Development
payments
Digital Garage and its subsidiary, DG Financial Technology (DGFT), have launched new digital wallet functionality integrated into their "Cloud Pay Business" DX solution. Developed in collaboration with group company Pocket Change, the platform aims to unify payments, loyalty programs, and customer management to drive digital transformation (DX) for
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred fifty-ninth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. This week, we are excited to have new subscribers join us from the Korea Investment Corporation, the Central Bank of Ireland, the University of York, and a fellow whose wife left him after reading NIST SP 800-207, among
tokenization
SBI Ripple Asia has completed the development of a blockchain-based token issuance platform and has officially registered as a "Third-Party Prepaid Payment Instrument Issuer." The registration, finalized on March 26, 2026, marks a significant step in the company’s efforts to integrate public blockchain technology with Japan’s
payments
Digital Garage (TSE Prime: 4819), a leading Japanese payment and marketing group, has launched “FT MediaString,” an AI-driven advertising business designed to integrate proprietary FinTech data with premium media inventory. The initiative, spearheaded by subsidiary BI.Garage, enters the market as the digital advertising industry faces mounting challenges in the