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～ GRAND PRIX AWARDED TO East Japan Railway Company & Rakuten Bank, Ltd. ～
FINOVATORS – have announced Grand Prix and Category Excellence for the respective category for “Japan Financial Innovation Award 2025（JFIA 2025）” on Mar. 3 at “Future Frontier Fes by FINOLAB (4F).”
JFIA was inaugurated in the Year 2020 to promote innovative initiatives in financial area by adopting information technology and to share best practices in the industry, and expects to further expand open innovation beyond corporate groups and business sectors. JFIA2025 consists for 3 categories, including Startup, Financial Institution, and Collaboration. FINOLAB, the FinTech Center of Japan, administrated the evaluation process by extracting about 300 innovative initiatives from press releases during the year 2024. Several category winners were selected by the group of professionals, FINOVATORS, based on the criteria of innovation, growth, and transformation and announced on Feb. 3. And after further evaluation, Grand Prix and Category Excellence for each category was announced during the 4F.
| JFIA 2025 Grand Prix and Category Excellence： https://jfia.tokyo/ | |||
| Award | Company | Initiative (Press Release) | Remarks |
| Grand Prix | East Japan Railway CompanyRakuten Bank, Ltd. | JRE BANK service to be launched in May.https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2024/20240409_ho02.pdf | Their collaboration enabled the entry of railway businesses into banking services with the use of BaaS, and they were highly evaluated for establishing new customer relationships through unique services. |
| StartupCategory Excellence | G.U.Group, Inc.. | JOC Token Achieves Japan’s First Simultaneous Listing on Six Global Exchangeshttps://www.gu-group.com/news/joc-listing | In addition to improving the recognition of Japan-originated blockchain, the establishment of a framework by G.U. Group to promote future practical implementation of blockchain was highly evaluated. |
| CollaborationCategory Excellence | Credit Engine, Inc.PayPay Corporation | Credit Engine Group to Become a Wholly Owned Subsidiary by PayPay, Inc.https://creditengine.jp/news/2024/10/pr-ce202410 | The deal was highly evaluated for demonstrating the potential for new developments leveraging the strengths of both companies. At the same time, it became a new exit model for startups. |
※No Finanacial Institution Category Excellence was awareded this year.
| JFIA 2025 Winners | ||
| Category | Company | Initiative (Some are Only in Japanese) |
| Startup | SmartBank, Inc. | Household Account Management Prepaid Card B/43 Launches New Feature to Prevent Overspending.https://smartbank.co.jp/news/3dd25e0768374bac8f2340e07bae24c2/ |
| Kasanare Inc. | Through the Use of Kasanare, a Generative AI Product, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation has reduced Internal Inquiry Workload by 50% in its Financial Market Trading Operations.https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000052.000114769.html | |
| G.U.Group, Inc.. | JOC Token Achieves Japan’s First Simultaneous Listing on Six Global Exchangeshttps://www.gu-group.com/news/joc-listing | |
| Financial Institution | GMO Aozora Net Bank, Ltd. | “Express Transfer Service” was launched to meet the needs of large volume transfers of several hundred per minute.https://gmo-aozora.com/news/2024/20240219-01.html |
| Sumitomo LifeInsurance Company | Launch of “Vitality Welfare Benefits Type”.https://www.sumitomolife.co.jp/about/newsrelease/pdf/2023/240325.pdf | |
| Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited | Introduced a guarantee scheme for fund transfer to handle digital payment of salaries.https://www.ms-ins.com/news/fy2024/pdf/0813_2.pdf | |
| Seven Bank, Ltd. | Foreign nationals can now apply to open a Seven Bank account at ATMs!https://contents.xj-storage.jp/xcontents/AS96633/d93ef9df/74b7/440c/b74f/62323653ce84/20241220123155770s.pdf | |
| Collaboration | East Japan Railway CompanyRakuten Bank, Ltd. | JRE BANK service to be launched in May.https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2024/20240409_ho02.pdf |
| Infcurion, Inc.Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd.Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation | Capital and Business Alliance between Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. and Infucurion Inc.https://assets.ctfassets.net/tb7n53plo58o/43doAtfkHvfEwTK4nKCEHV/106bc17eaf8af67088b1c4c9c4e35e44/Infcurion_Release_SMBC_Group_and_Infcurion_Sign_Capital_and_Business_Alliance.pdf | |
| Finatext Holdings Ltd.Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co., Ltd. | New Online Investment Fund Sales Service, “mattoco+” was developed by Smartplus for Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co., Ltd.https://smartplus-sec.com/news/press/20241015/ | |
| Credit Engine, Inc.PayPay Corporation | Credit Engine Group to Become a Wholly Owned Subsidiary by PayPay, Inc.https://creditengine.jp/news/2024/10/pr-ce202410 | |
| KlimaDAO JAPAN Co., Ltd.OPTAGE Inc.Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.PBADAO Co., LTd. | KlimaDAO JAPAN launched Proof of Concept of blockchain-based carbon credit market “KlimaDAO JAPAN MARKET,” with OPTAGE Inc. providing wallet and Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. providing project support.https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000031.000107877.html | |
（In order of announced Order）
■About FINOLAB Inc.
Address：Otemachi 1-6-1, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo
Representative：CEO, Hiroshi Yamamoto
Founded：2019-07-11
Capital：JPY 300 Million
Business Domain：Promoting FinTech initiatives of Members, including startups and corporates, and expand FinTech ecosystem in Japan.
Web：https://finolab.co.jp/
■About FINOLAB Community
The Fintech Center of Tokyo, FINOLAB is a membership community and an office space located in the heart of international financial district in Tokyo）to promote FinTech ecosystem. Launched in Feb. 2016 by Mitsubishi Estate and Dentsu Group as the first FinTech Center in Japan. Consists of 57 Startup Members, 8 Associations and 25 Corporate Members (As of Mar. 2025). https://finolab.tokyo/
■About FINOVATORS, General Incorporated Association
Non-profit organization, with a group of pro-bono experts（Layer, Investor, Consultant, Analyst, Engineer, Entrepreneur, Banker, Public Sector Specialist, etc.）for supporting startups. Driving health innovation ecosystem in Japan by activities based on global and future vision, not limited to any organization or business area. http://finovators.org/