KDDI partners with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ to launch an online bank
By Dusan Belic on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 10:35 AM PST In KDDI
KDDI is partnering with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ to launch a 24-hour online bank. The 50-50 venture will be called Jibun Bank or “me bank,” and will reportedly debut in mid-July.
Initially, account holders will be able to make online payments using their mobile phones or PCs, with such features as loans, insurance and credit card services planned to be rolled out in the near future. KDDI and Bank of Tokyo expect to have 2.4 million accounts and deposits representing a total of 1 trillion yen ($9.27 billion) in the fiscal year starting April 2010. Then, in the following two years, the bank plans to have a total of 3.4 million accounts and 1.5 trillion yen in deposits.
The service, however, won’t be open to KDDI users, only. It will be open to other mobile networks, NTT DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM) and Softbank (OTCPK: SFTBF), users as well, but KDDI plans to make its phones “the most convenient cellphones on the market, and the safest way to transfer money.”
Bank president Masato Nakai said he expects half of the bank’s revenues to come from fees, and the other half from investments on deposits.
[Via: Reuters]
