Tokyo-based fintech company MoneyForward could go public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers market by September; its market cap is expected to be JPY10 to 20 billion ($90 to $180 million); founded in 2012, MoneyForward is a personal financial management app which includes accounting functions, payroll service, statement collection, expense reporting, financial projections and the ability to send an invoice; MoneyForward has over four million individual users in Japan. Source
Orix Corporation and its affiliate Yayoi Co., Ltd. have launched a new online lending business; the platform will focus on lending to small businesses in Japan; the service will seek to utilize big data and artificial intelligence to develop an advanced credit underwriting model for lending. Source
Japanese banks are looking at digital payments due to a recent regulatory change which may bring in more competition; the law will be introduced in phases which makes it easier for depositors to give third parties access to both their accounts and data; it is part of a government push to reduce high cash use in the country; Projects around QR codes, blockchain and digital currencies are currently in the works. Source
SBI Ripple Asia this summer announced plans for a Japanese blockchain development consortia; now, it says interest from banks has been so high that they are launching in November 2016 with 47 member banks, as opposed to an originally planned launch in March 2017 with 30 banks; the participants will be working first on a proof of concept for real-time remittance and cross-border payments; participants include Mizuho, Bank of Yokohama and SBI Sumishin Net Bank. Source
Japanese insurer Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co. has announced plans to replace 30% of its payment assessment department with an artificial intelligence system; the insurance company has partnered with IBM for use of IBM's Watson; the system will analyze and interpret medical documents for insurance payments; the company estimates it will save approximately 140 million yen ($1.19 million) per year by utilizing the new system; other insurance companies also exploring artificial intelligence for similar types of work include Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., Japan Post Insurance Co. and Nippon Life Insurance Co. Source
Predictions in 2015 estimated that within 20 years half of the jobs in Japan could be done by robots; the Nomura Research Institute worked with Michael Osborne in 2015 to study 600 jobs in Japan reporting that 49% could be replaced by computer systems; since the 2015 predictions there has been a continued trend toward artificial intelligence with Japanese insurance company Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance releasing one of the first public announcements on artificial intelligence replacing a significant portion of workers in its payment processing department in January 2017. Source
NTT Data, Japan's largest IT services firm, has announced a new blockchain consortium; 13 participating members including three of Japan's megabanks: the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation; other notable participants represent industries such as insurance, logistics, and import and export trade; the consortium's objectives include exploring the lead up to and validation of the feasibility of blockchain applications; the consortium will be officially launched on August 30 and expected to last until March 2018. Source
Mizuho Financial Group is looking to invest several billion dollars over the next five years, targeting fintech in Asia; the...
The FIBC was founded in 2012 and holds a conference in Japan; Applications for their FinPitch competition are now open; event will include pitches from 30 organizations to a global audience; the event takes place on March 2, 2018 in Tokyo. Source
SoftBank is a telecommunications and internet focused business with its headquarters in Japan; the firm has announced it will be acquiring asset manager Fortress Investment Group for $3.3 billion; SoftBank owns and invests in a range of internet and digital businesses; the acquisition follows a previous collaboration between SoftBank and Fortress on a new $100 billion Vision Fund; Fortress will be run independently from SoftBank after the acquisition and will be led by existing Fortress principals Pete Briger, Wes Edens and Randy Nardone with close collaboration on the Vision Fund. Source