The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will work together to promote innovation in financial services in Japan and Australia. Both have completed a framework and they will share information and support the entry of fintech firms into each other’s markets. ASIC says this framework will “help open […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Mizuho Bank has opted for a suite of IBM services to power its open banking ambitions in Japan. The bank will use IBM’s FinTech API solution, API Connect on the IBM Cloud and IBM DataPower Gateway. The shift to API banking is a common theme for many in fintech at present. According to IBM, the […]
R3 and four Japanese financial institutions (FIs) have joined forces to use blockchain in a derivatives prototype test. Nomura, Daiwa Securities Group, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and R3 have tested a prototype developed using Corda, R3’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform based on blockchain, to streamline International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) Master Agreement […]
Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group will start a venture next month to create new fintech businesses and catch up with its rivals, according to Reuters. As Banking Technology reported last month, Mizuho Financial Group, Mizuho Bank and IBM Japan teamed up to build a blockchain-based trade financing platform – and so edged commercialisation ever forward. So […]
SoftBank has announced its first major close with $93 billion of committed capital, and the promise to hit $100 billion within six months, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). While it has been circulating in the news for some time now, it should be worth noting this is the largest private equity fund ever raised, […]
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and its partners have unveiled an automated chat service using artificial intelligence (AI) to offer guidance to customers in Japan. SMFG is working with SMBC Nikko Securities, NTT Communications, with support from Accenture Japan, and their service will become available on 25 May at SMBC’s contact centre to improve its […]
With its shrinking population and its growing interest in fintech, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has turned to Accenture to support recruiting companies find the right stuff from abroad. According to Japan’s health ministry, the nation’s population is expected to fall from 127 million to 88 million in 2065, dropping further to 51 million by […]
Temenos is looking to conquer the core banking software markets of China and Japan.
Mizuho Financial Group, Mizuho Bank and IBM Japan have teamed up to build a blockchain-based trade financing platform – with commercialisation edging ever forward. With the platform, Mizuho is aiming to “make it easier” for parties involved in the supply chain, including exporters, importers, shippers, insurance companies, port operators and port authorities, to “share critical […]
Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week, Banking Technology’s deputy editor Antony Peyton looks at whether Japan’s rules rule. If you’re a billionaire (which I assume isn’t all of […]
Another day, another cryptocurrency. A concise round-up of blockchain and Bitcoin events. Features Japan, Lykke, ChronoBank and London’s Imperial College Business School. It’s the land of the rising sums, as Bitcoin is now a legal payment method in Japan. As a result, Bitcoin trades rose today – at 11am (UK time) it was up 2.8% […]
The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have established a co-operation framework for fintech links between both countries. The framework enables MAS and JFSA to refer fintech companies in their countries to each other’s markets. It also outlines how the referred companies can initiate discussions with the regulatory […]
The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have exchanged letters on a co-operation framework to support fintech companies. This deal will provide a regulatory referral system for “innovator businesses” from Japan and the UK seeking to enter the other’s market. The authority that receives such a referral will […]
Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) and Japan Exchange Regulation (JPX-R) revealed that they have been reviewing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies developed by NEC Corporation and Hitachi to improve market intelligence operations.
Japanese financial services provider Mizuho has partnered with Cognizant to test cross-border document sharing and custom digital currency applications of blockchain – and the cost implications of using the technology. Mizuho says the project was a success and concluded that a tamper-proof distribution database built using blockchain could support a platform to share information and […]
Asian fintech company 8 Securities has launched Chloe, a robo-advisor that constructs portfolios with exchange traded funds (ETFs) listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). To begin, customers must answer a short survey which will help Chloe set goals and target dates to achieve those goals. Each yen deposited is invested into a diversified global […]
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is looking to work closer on banking supervision with the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran (CBI). The pair have exchanged letters on co-operation and the plan is to examine the performance of their respective duties for the “safe and sound functioning” of banking organisations in their countries. […]
The Japanese government is sending 55 SMEs and start-ups abroad as part of its new innovation programme. Called the Hiyaku Next Enterprise programme, it is part of the Silicon Valley-Japan Bridge Project, set up by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). That project was announced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in April 2015 […]
Tokyo-based IT provider NEC Corporation is conducting trials for cashless payment services using NEC facial recognition technology in co-operation with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Sumitomo Mitsui Card. The SMBC trials will continue to 30 January 2017, involving around 1,000 employees at the dining facilities of SMBC’s head office. […]
Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), Osaka Exchange OSE) and Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC) will form a blockchain consortium of Japanese financial institutions. All three are part of Japan Exchange Group (JPX) and will continue to conduct proof-of-concept (PoC) testing based on past findings and discuss the possibility of applying blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) […]
Japan’s Mizuho Bank is going to move to a new core banking platform in early 2017, Banking Technology understands. The cost of the project is believed to be JPY 300 billion ($2.8 billion).
The name may not be catchy but “The Japan Bank Consortium to Centrally Provide Domestic and Cross-border Payments” has officially launched with 42 member banks. As Banking Technology reported in August, SBI Ripple Asia, a joint venture between distributed ledger tech provider Ripple and SBI Holdings, announced that a Japanese consortium of 15 banks in […]
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (Tocom) has gone live on its new trading system – powered by Nasdaq’s Genium INET technology, as well as Nasdaq pre-trade risk and smarts market surveillance solutions.
SBI Ripple Asia has announced that a Japanese consortium of 15 banks in a new network will use Ripple’s blockchain technology for payments and settlement. Using Ripple, customers of the banks will get real-time domestic and cross-border payments, 365 days of the year. Initial participants include Bank of Yokohama and SBI Sumishin Net Bank (SBI […]
Japan Exchange Group’s (JPX) subsidiary, Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE), has gone live on Nasdaq’s new derivatives trading system. The trading system will provide OSE with “higher performance, longer trading hours and more flexibility” for new products. In addition to the trading system, OSE has also launched Nasdaq’s real-time, cross-market surveillance (Smarts) and pre-trade risk management […]
Japanese operator group Softbank has successfully bid £24.3 billion to buy UK mobile chip designer ARM in a bid to position itself at the centre of the IoT revolution, reports Scott Bicheno at Telecoms.com. The bid represents a 43% premium to the ARM share price at close of trading on Friday last week and the […]
Japan’s Seven Bank has improved security for ATM withdrawals following Japanese banks losing JPY 1.8 billion ($16.8 million) through fake overseas cards. Banks across the island nation are rushing to deal with the fraud, and Seven Bank which operates ATMs in the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, has cut its withdrawal limit to JPY 50,000 ($468) […]
Monex, one of Japan’s largest online trading brokers, is deploying a new platform for its domestic equity and investment trust processing business. The supplier is Broadridge Financial Solutions. Broadridge’s offering is JASDEC (Japan Securities Depository Centre, Inc) Processing Solution. Oki Matsumoto, CEO of Monex, says the new platform “will enable us to further improve our […]
Mizuho Bank plans to use a new robotics platform developed by IBM Research-Tokyo for the bank’s customer service-oriented robots. IBM says its researchers are developing new technologies that will “benefit” Mizuho’s Robotics platform by tapping into Watson’s (IBM’s cognitive technology) language and other capabilities to provide a “smoother human/robot interaction and to enable collaboration between […]
Japan’s Financial Services Agency has ambitious plans to more than double the proportion of foreign investors in Tokyo’s securities market by 2020. The plans are part of a wider shift linked to ‘Abenomics’, the government push to revitalise Japan’s economy.
Japan Exchange Group is planning to introduce a new derivatives trading system for its derivatives-focused subsidiary the Osaka Exchange, using technology provided by Nasdaq.
The Japan Securities Clearing Corporation has gone live on a new system for client clearing of Japanese yen-denominated interest rate swaps and collateral management.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange has begun offering latency performance management as a service to users of its Arrownet network, which the exchange says will help market participants gain deeper insights into the quality of their trading and market data communications between the TSE and their own systems.
Etrali Trading Solutions has rolled out its mobile voice recording service in Japan, allowing financial institutions to meet FSA regulations in the country. Etrali’s solution is SIM-based, and is already being used in Europe and the US.
Japan’s Aizawa Securities has chosen vendor Fidessa as its new proprietary and wholesale agency trading system, as the Japanese firm prepares to revamp its algo trading against the backdrop of last year’s Japan Exchange Group merger and the upcoming integration of the derivatives market in two months’ time.
Japan’s evolving payments industry offers an opportunity for financial institutions and card issuers to capitalise on mobile technology and card schemes, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent.
Financial services firms in Japan are taking early steps to prepare for new rules on OTC derivatives, according to a new survey carried out by fintech company Calypso in Tokyo.
Japan Exchange Group has migrated the Osaka Securities Exchange cash equities market and integrated it into the Tokyo Stock Exchange, marking an important stage in the unification of the two exchanges.
Japan Exchange Group has set out plans to slash 8.5 billion Japanese yen (£60 million) from its annual operating costs by 2015 – representing 15% of the firm’s overall budget – as the exchange seeks to revitalise its equities and derivatives markets and take on its competitors.
