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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 and Softbank, 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]
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
