Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Japanese megabank Mizuho Financial Group Inc. has launched a financial service using AI to conduct credit assessments and targeting small and medium-sized enterprises, such as startups.
Through the service, account opening -- which can be completed as early as the same day -- online lending and other processes can be carried out. The megabank intends to respond to the funding needs of companies, which vary depending on their stage of growth.
For the service, Upsider Bank by Mizuho, the megabank will utilize the credit assessment expertise of Upsider Holdings Inc., a Tokyo-based company in which it acquired a majority stake last year.
AI will analyze information on deposits and withdrawals, as well as payment data, to estimate the future growth potential of users and determine credit limits. As a result, Mizuho will be able to drastically reduce loan processing times compared to conventional methods, it said.
Transfer fees to other banks will be 100 yen, including tax -- one of the lowest rates in the industry. The bank has set a target of acquiring 100,000 accounts and disbursing 500 billion yen in online loans by fiscal 2030, which ends March 2031.
"Small and medium-sized enterprises are looking for services that are cheap and convenient. Furthermore, they also want to secure funds for growth quickly," said Masahiro Kihara, president and group CEO of Mizuho Financial Group., at a press conference held Tuesday in Tokyo. "This new service fulfills all of these criteria."
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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July 01, 2026 23:54 ET (03:54 GMT)
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