Japan's third specialized online bank, eBank Corp, opened for business yesterday with a pledge from its president to become a world leader in enabling customers swift and easy payment services.
The venture offers a quick and easy tool to pay for online purchases of low-priced goods and services in a country where e-commerce transactions are expanding steadily in line with the growing number of Internet users.
"We are a financial institution that does not make loans. Instead, we will make ourselves one of the world's top banks that specialize in payment services," eBank President and Chief Executive Taiichi Matsuo said at the opening ceremony. "Such payment services have set the basis for the recent expansion in the IT industry in the US. By improving this payment infrastructure, we want to help Japan catch up with the US," he said.
The president said he hopes the bank, which is to take client applications for opening bank accounts before starting small-lot payment services in early August, will help set the stage for Japan's long-awaited economic recovery.
The debut of eBank comes at a time when Japan's banking sector faces a renewed threat from falling Tokyo stocks, which erode the banks' already fragile capital bases. EBank is Japan's third specialized online bank after Japan Net Bank, set up last October by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, and Sony Bank Inc, formed by electronics giant Sony Corp earlier this year.
Unlike other online banks, eBank does not charge individuals for money transfers between eBank accounts, but will have shops pay commissions for the online settlement service. The bank said it aims to set the commission at about half of that shops are charged for similar services.
Owned 5.68 percent by Japan Telecom Co Ltd and 4.51 percent by trading house Itochu Corp and an affiliate, eBank said it aims to break even in the third year of operation.
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