Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and KDDI launch m-banking JV

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and telecoms operator KDDI have received a licence from Japan's Financial Services Agency for the launch of their m-banking service.

The 50:50 joint venture, called Jibun Bank (personal bank), will start accepting applications for accounts from mid-July. Account holders will be able to make deposits and payments through using mobile phones and PCs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Customers will be able to make payments to the accounts of anyone in their mobile phone's address book, as well as shop online with their handsets. Foreign currency deposits, credit card services and insurance offerings are planned for the future.

Users of KDDI's rival mobile carriers NTT DoCoMo and Softbank will also be able to sign up for accounts. The new venture expects to have 2.4m accounts by its third year, with around 1trn yen ($9.2bn) in deposits. By the fifth year the venture hopes to have 3.4m accounts and 1.5trn yen ($13.8bn) in deposits.

KDDI and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ established a company - Mobile Net Bank Development Corporation - in 2006 to formalise business plans, finalise products and services and build the required core systems for the venture.