Japan’s megabanks launch services for small and medium-sized businesses — The Japan Times
Japan’s largest banks are launching digital financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises, aiming to increase lending and revenue amid interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan. As The Japan Times reports, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Bank are developing digital services for this segment, while MUFG Bank has announced a service to support back-office operations.
SMBC and Mizuho services
In May 2025, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. launched Trunk, a financial service primarily for small and medium-sized companies. It allows users to carry out accounting operations, including paying bills, from a smartphone. Artificial intelligence also informs users about government and other subsidies.
In July 2026, SMBC announced lower fees for transfers to other banks and added an option for companies in Tokyo to apply for loans guaranteed by credit guarantee associations. As of July, the number of Trunk accounts exceeded 90,000.
Mizuho Bank launched Upsider Bank for small and medium-sized businesses in June. Corporate clients can open an account as early as the day they apply. The fee for a transfer to another bank is ¥100, which, according to the source, is the lowest rate in the industry. The service uses artificial intelligence to assess loan applications and provides support for companies from the startup stage through the growth phase.
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Lending market
By fiscal year 2030, Mizuho plans to issue a cumulative ¥500 billion in loans through Upsider Bank and attract 100,000 accounts. Mizuho Financial Group President Masahiro Kihara said that a significant share of workers are employed by small, medium-sized, or somewhat larger companies, and that without supporting their growth, large companies will not grow either.
In July, MUFG Bank announced the launch of a service to support the back-office operations of small and medium-sized enterprises. The bank also plans to begin digital financial services for this segment by March 2027.
Small and medium-sized enterprises account for about 99% of all companies in Japan. At the end of March, the outstanding volume of Japanese banks’ loans to such businesses reached about ¥460 trillion, or 70% of total lending. This is 2.5 times more than the volume of loans to large corporations. According to the Bank of Japan, the average rate on new loans in March was 1.813%, the highest level since July 2007.
