3 Japanese FinTech start-ups to watch out for in 2021

By Leandra Monteiro

In the last few years, the Japanese FinTech market has witnessed significant developments. Among the top start-up hubs in Japan, Tokyo is the main start-up hub. In order to grow the FinTech ecosystem, the government of Japan laid out a 7-step strategy. The strategy comprises of the creation of a start-up city, providing entrepreneurship education, state procurement, enhanced accelerator programs and funding for start-ups. These initiatives have paved the way for start-ups in Japan.

As the Japanese FinTech industry continues to grow, heres a look at 3 of the country’s most promising FinTech start-ups:

BitFlyer: BitFlyer is a Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange and marketplace. The exchange allows its customers to buy, sell and spend cryptocurrencies. It offers e-commerce payment services that can transfer cryptocurrencies in order to give users secure trading.

BitFlyer claims to be among the largest bitcoin exchange in the world by volume, transacting US$250 billion year-to-date. Since it was founded in 2014 by Masuda Rikiya, Takafumi Komiyama and Yuzo Kano, BitFlyer has grown to more than 2 million users and expanded into the US and Europe.

Money Design: Tokyo-based Money Design was found in 2013 by Mamoru Taniya. The FinTech company provides automated investment management and online advisory services. Money Design’s main product is THEO, a robo advisor that uses AI and algorithms. Through Theo, people can invest in dozens of world currencies and thousands of different stocks from more than 60 countries.

Money Design aims to transform the present asset management landscape with the use of technology and create new relationships between people and money more easily.

MoneyTree: Founded in 2012, Moneytree KK develops and offers personal finance management applications on iPhone, iPad, and Apple watch. It is a FinTech data platform that provides open banking and data management services to financial enterprises.

The company’s Moneytree App and data aggregation platform Moneytree Link are internationally accredited and recognised with the International Organisation for Standardisation. In addition, the company has a strategic partnership with IBM and claims more than 1.3 million users.

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