GMO Aozora Net Bank, Ltd. partners with Wise Platform in Japan

GMO Aozora Net Bank, Ltd. becomes the first bank partner in Japan with Wise Platform, bringing fast, low-cost international payments to more than 80,000 corporate customers

Kon’nichiwa! We’re excited to announce our first Wise Platform bank partnership in Japan with GMO Aozora Net Bank, Ltd. (“GMO Aozora Net Bank”). With our combined expertise in moving money globally and banking services, we’re bringing fast, convenient and low-cost international transfer services to more than 80,000* corporate customers. GMO Aozora Net Bank is Wise Platform’s fifth banking partner in Asia alongside Hong Kong's ZA Bank, Indonesia's Bank Mandiri, Singapore's Aspire and South Korea's Shinhan Bank.

GMO Aozora Net Bank launched its online banking business in July 2018, and since then has received a high volume of requests from corporate customers for an inexpensive, fast, and hassle-free overseas remittance service. Particularly as businesses look to expand overseas or hire international talent, international payments have become a high business priority worldwide.

GMO Aozora Net Bank found a solution in Wise Platform, a market-leading provider of payment FX infrastructure for banks and businesses around the world. Powered by Wise Platform's easy-to-use APIs, GMO Aozora Net Bank customers can now send international payments in 8 currencies to 28 countries and regions including the US, UK, China, Australia, and Singapore.

GMO Aozora Net Bank’s corporate customers can access this international payments service via their internet banking platform 24 hours a day, 365 days a year^. With Wise's experience in processing instant cross-border payments, GMO Aozora Bank customers can even expect their payments to be paid out in as little as 2 minutes. This means businesses can better manage their invoicing and supplier payment needs.

With this in mind, our dedicated Wise Platform delivery team supported GMO Aozora Net Bank through all stages of the delivery cycle to bring this new product to launch.

Steve Naude - Head, Wise Platform, said:

“International remittances remain a heavy burden for small and medium-sized enterprises with limited resources. GMO Aozora Net Bank and Wise share a vision of modernising the global financial system and enabling fair and transparent banking for everyone. Through this partnership, SMEs using GMO Aozora Net Bank will be able to enjoy Wise’s fast, transparent and convenient international money transfer service at lower rates than traditional providers.”

Takehito Kaneko, Chairman and Representative Director of GMO Aozora Net Bank, said:

“Since setting up a new digital banking business, we have received many requests from corporate customers regarding international money transfer service. We’re glad to be the first bank in Japan to launch a fast and inexpensive international money transfer service for customers using Wise Platform. Through this partnership, we will support the global business transactions of corporate customers and will continue to develop and provide services that respond to customers’ needs as the No.1 Tech Bank that grows together with our customers.”

About Wise Platform

Wise Platform lets businesses, banks and other financial institutions integrate the power of Wise into their own platforms via the Wise API to offer cheaper, faster, easier payments to their own customers. Globally, Wise Platform is live with more than 50 bank and non-bank partners across the world, including Monzo in the UK, N26 in Germany, Shinhan Bank in South Korea, ZA Bank in Hong Kong, Bank Mandiri in Indonesia and Aspire in Singapore.

Wise Platform also comes pre-integrated in core banking platforms like Temenos, Mambu and Thought Machine.

About GMO Aozora Net Bank

GMO Aozora Net Bank transitioned as a new digital bank in July of 2018. The bank’s corporate vision is "All for our customers. Strive to be the No.1 Tech Bank.” GMO Aozora Net Bank provides financial and payment services by utilizing its strengths in its IT engineering and development capabilities. The bank’s corporate clients value the uniqueness, convenience, UI/UX, and low cost of their services, and are experiencing a significant growth in its customer base. GMO Aozora Net Bank aims to continue to be a bank that grows together with its customers.

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*As at 30th April 2023
^Excludes system maintenance