In Bid to Create Customer-Centric Open Financial Platform

Money Forward, Inc. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; represented by Yosuke Tsuji, Representative Director, President and CEO; ”Money Forward”) and Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, Limited (headquartered in Koto-ku, Tokyo; represented by Yukihiko Onishi, President and Representative Director; ”Sumitomo Mitsui Card”) entered into a basic agreement (the “Agreement”*1) today concerning a capital and business alliance (the “Alliance”) , which includes the establishment of a joint venture in the retail business. The two companies will also explore prospective joint projects targeting sole proprietors and corporations.

The partners are committed to resolving financial issues of an even larger pool of customers by merging and maximizing the values of Money Forward’s various B2C financial services, centered on Japan’s No.1 PFM and asset management app*2 Money Forward ME, and Sumitomo Mitsui Card’s cutting-edge digital cashless services and SMBC Group’s “Olive,” a Comprehensive Mobile Financial Service for Retail Customers.

１. Background and Purpose of the Agreement
Amid rapid changes in the environment surrounding personal finances and assets in Japan, including the fast-paced evolution of digitalization and cashless payments and the launch of the New NISA scheme (a government-driven tax exemption program for investments), customer demands concerning money have been diversifying. To fulfill such needs, Money Forward and Sumitomo Mitsui Card have been providing highly advanced and convenient services in their respective fields.

Money Forward ME is a financial data visualization service provided by Money Forward, which connects with over 2,460 financial services including banks, credit cards, securities, and reward point programs*3 and retrieves deposit/withdrawal, balance, purchase history, and other data from those services to automatically create a household accounting book. Additional developments have been made to support asset management as well, including a function for checking the financial asset breakdown and daily valuation gains or losses as well as a new subscription plan focused on wealth formation. Money Forward ME is currently the most widely used PFM and asset management app in Japan*2, with over 16.1 million users and 25 trillion yen in financial assets under all integrated accounts*4.

Meanwhile, Sumitomo Mitsui Card provides “Olive,” a Comprehensive Mobile Financial Service for Retail Customers in partner with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and other companies. Olive allows users to seamlessly access bank account, card payment, financing, online securities, online insurance and other functions on their mobile application. It is hailed as the new standard of financial services among many, with over 2.3 million accounts*5 opened in just over a year since its release. Sumitomo Mitsui Card is determined to extend Olive’s service scope through collaborations and alliances beyond the SMBC Group by partnering with top players both in the financial and non-financial sector.

The partners vow to create a customer-centric “open financial platform” and deliver innovative and unparalleled user experiences by interweaving Money Forward ME’s vast PFM and asset management functions with Olive’s wealth of financial service functions, which includes online banking, card payment, financing, and securities.

２. Services to Be Released
Under the Alliance, the companies will consider jointly releasing the following services and functions to ultimately create a customer-centric “open financial platform.”

(1) Seamless Fund Transfers
A seamless user experience in fund transfers attained by bringing together the functions of Money Forward ME and SMBC Group’s Olive. Users will have access to a single-view dashboard of their account balance across multiple financial institutions and be able to make interbank transfers with an intuitive drag-and-drop action.

(2) Real-Time PFM
A service that promptly reflects credit card payments to a household accounting book by combining Sumitomo Mitsui Card’s real-time purchase alerts with Money Forward ME’s asset visualization function. This will enable customers to use their card with peace of mind and avoid worrying about excessive purchases.

(3) Personalized Loan
A function that automatically proposes the appropriate borrowing limit for each customer by analyzing the usage of Sumitomo Mitsui Card’s credit card and Olive as well as Money Forward ME’s PFM data. This will serve to alleviate customers’ anxiety about dealing with unexpected expenses and to arrange a reasonable repayment plan.

(4) Point Rewards for PFM
A function that allows users to earn Blue and Yellow “V Point” when using Money Forward ME. This will help make the experience of managing and reviewing personal finances more economical and enjoyable for users.

(5) AI-Assisted Support for Financial Concerns
A function that provides AI-powered personalized proposals for improving money habits based on analyses of personal finances and assets as well as the use of various financial services. This would allow users to optimally utilize their money without being confined to any restrictions or the segmentation of banks, cards, and securities. For example, advice would be provided on whether a user should prioritize repaying loans or making investments.

Furthermore, by combining their respective strengths, the partners aim to deliver previously unattainable experiences to sole proprietors and corporations as well.

Company name: TBD
Address: TBD
Representative: Yukihiko Onishi, Representative Director and Chairperson
Yosuke Tsuji, Representative Director and President
Scheduled date for commencing operations: December 2024 (plan)

■ Outline of each company
Company name: Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, Limited
Address: SMBC Toyosu Building, 2-2-31 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Yukihiko Onishi, President and Representative Director
Established: December 26, 1967
Business description: credit card, debit card, prepaid card, and other payment businesses and loan, credit guarantee, gift card, and other auxiliary businesses
URL: https://www.smbc-card.com/index.jsp

Company name: Money Forward, Inc.
Address: 21F Tamachi Station Tower S, 3-1-21 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0023
Representative: Yosuke Tsuji, Representative Director, President and CEO
Established: May 2012
Business description: Development and provision of PFM and cloud services
URL:https://corp.moneyforward.com/en/
Main Services:
Money Forward ME, a financial data visualization service
https://moneyforward.com/me/en
Money Forward Cloud, SaaS for back-office operations
https://biz.moneyforward.com/

*1 The Agreement sets forth the basic policy and other necessary matters for the consideration of the Alliance. A definitive agreement on the Alliance will be concluded as soon as the two companies agree on its details, and any matters that require disclosure will be disclosed promptly. In addition, each action under the Alliance will be executed within the scope of the applicable laws and regulations, and in cases where there are procedures required by laws or regulations, only after such procedures are completed.

*2 Outline of survey / Survey outsourced to: Macromill, Inc. / Survey on ”No.1 PFM app” to which 1,034 PFM app users in their 20s to 60s responded and on “No.1 asset management app” to which 1,035 asset management app users in their 20s to 60s responded / Survey period: September 11–12, 2023 / Survey method: online survey
* PFM app refers to an app that allows users to manage their personal finances using a smartphone or tablet, while an asset management app refers to an app that enables users to centrally manage multiple assets on their smartphone or tablet.

*3 As of June 30, 2024.

*4 Accumulated number of users of Money Forward ME in Home domain, consisting of app downloads and online registrations as of May 31, 2024. Total amount of financial assets in accounts aggregated in Money Forward ME and services for individuals provided by Money Forward X as of May 31, 2024.

*5 As of March 31, 2024.

* Any company names as well as product and service names (including logo marks) in the document are trademarks of their respective companies or registered trademarks of their respective right holders.

For further information, please contact
Public Relations: pr@moneyforward.co.jp