Rakuten Bank Japan

What Rakuten Bank Japan does

Rakuten Bank, Ltd. (楽天銀行株式会社) is a digital-only (internet) bank headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 2001 as ebank and rebranded under Rakuten Group ownership. It operates with no physical branches, delivering retail and small-business banking exclusively through a web platform (rakuten-bank.co.jp) and native iOS/Android mobile applications. The bank serves a mass-market Japanese retail customer base of 18M+ deposit accounts (as of March 2026), with a secondary small-business / sole-proprietor segment. Its deposit, lending, payments, investment, insurance, FX, and remittance products are tightly integrated with the broader Rakuten Group ecosystem - Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Card, Rakuten Securities (via the Money Bridge account linkage with 6M+ settings), Rakuten Mobile, Rakuten Pay, and Rakuten Insurance - driving cross-sell, loyalty (Happy Program tiering, SPU point-ups), and a low-cost-to-serve model.

The core platform architecture rests on three product pillars: (1) Core Banking (yen and foreign-currency deposits, debit cards on Visa/Mastercard/JCB networks, domestic and international transfers, ATM access); (2) Lending (unsecured card loans up to 10M yen, securities-collateral loans from 2.125% p.a., mortgage loans including Flat 35 fixed-rate and 50-year variable products, reverse mortgages, and real-estate-collateral loans); and (3) Investment & Insurance (FX, investment trusts, NISA accounts, and savings-type insurance distributed as a financial product intermediary). The bank's revenue model is anchored on net interest income - materially boosted by Bank of Japan rate hikes, with 9-month net profit up 51% to 53.1B yen and FY2026 net profit forecast revised upward to 71.3B yen - supplemented by transaction and fee income (ATM, transfers, FX), and financial-product distribution commissions. Operational differentiation includes an AI chatbot for customer support, biometric app login, and online mortgage consultation (video) supported by physical mortgage centers in Tokyo and Fukuoka. In May 2026, the bank entered a strategic capital and business alliance with Mizuho Financial Group (which acquired 23,559,673 Class A shares) and is consolidating FinTech subsidiaries (Rakuten Card, Rakuten Securities HD) into a unified Rakuten Group structure - extending the bank from retail digital banking into SME lending, project finance, and housing loans backed by a megabank distribution channel.

Name

Rakuten Bank Japan

Legal name

Rakuten Bank, Ltd. (楽天銀行株式会社)

Website

https://rakuten-bank.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Rakuten Bank Japan is a digital-only (internet) bank serving 18M+ Japanese retail and small-business deposit accounts with no physical branches. It delivers deposits, lending, payments, securities, FX, and insurance via web and mobile apps, integrated with the Rakuten Group ecosystem for cross-selling and loyalty.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Interest Income: Primary revenue driver. Rakuten Bank earns interest on lending products including securities-collateral loans, mortgage loans (including Flat 35 government-backed mortgages, variable-rate loans, and 50-year loans), card loans, and other credit facilities. Interest income is boosted by Bank of Japan rate hikes. Nine-month net profit increased 51% driven by significant rise in interest income and deposit balances.
2. Fee and Commission Income: Fees from ATM transactions, domestic and international money transfers, foreign exchange services, securities brokerage (financial product intermediation), insurance product distribution, and various account service charges. Fee waivers are offered through the Happy Program based on customer tier.
3. Financial Product Distribution: Revenue from financial product intermediation including investment trusts, foreign currency deposits, FX trading, insurance products, and securities brokerage through Rakuten Securities. The bank acts as a financial product intermediary (金融商品仲介) earning referral commissions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rakuten Bank is a digital-only (internet) bank in Japan that operates without physical branches, delivering retail banking services through its website and mobile app. Its core offerings include yen and foreign currency deposits, card loans, securities-collateral loans, mortgage loans (including Flat 35), debit and credit cards, international remittance, FX trading, investment trusts, and insurance products, deeply integrated with the broader Rakuten Group ecosystem.

Product overview

Rakuten Bank Japan operates as a digital-only (internet) bank offering a comprehensive suite of banking, lending, investment, and insurance products. The core platform consists of deposit accounts (yen savings, time deposits, foreign currency) with Money Bridge as the key integration layer connecting banking services with Rakuten Securities for investment functionality. The product portfolio centers on three pillars: (1) Core Banking (deposits, transfers, card services), (2) Lending (card loans, securities-collateral loans, mortgages including Flat35 fixed-rate products, reverse mortgages), and (3) Investment/Insurance (FX trading, investment trusts, insurance). The bank leverages the Rakuten ecosystem for cross-selling, integrating with Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Card, Rakuten Securities, Rakuten Pay, and Rakuten Mobile to offer unified points, interest benefits, and seamless user experience across services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Yen Savings and Time Deposits (普通預金・定期預金) Core yen-denominated deposit products including regular savings accounts with competitive interest rates (up to 0.38% p.a. with Money Bridge linkage) and time deposits with terms ranging from 1 week to 10 years, targeted at individual retail customers in Japan.
• Foreign Currency Deposits (外貨預金) Foreign currency savings and time deposit products in multiple currencies including USD, AUD, and NZD, enabling retail customers to diversify holdings and earn higher yields than yen deposits.
• Securities-Collateral Loan (証券担保ローン) Loan product using securities held at Rakuten Securities as collateral, with borrowing rates of 2.125%-4.125% p.a., a minimum loan unit of 10,000 yen, and maximum borrowing up to 100 million yen. Funds available in as few as 3 business days.
• Rakuten Bank Super Loan / Card Loan (楽天銀行スーパーローン) Unsecured personal revolving credit line of up to 10 million yen, with no annual fee and a quick smartphone-based application process targeted at individual consumers.
• Mortgage / Housing Loans (住宅ローン) Comprehensive mortgage product suite including Flat 35 long-term fixed-rate government-backed loans, variable-rate loans with fixed-term options, and 50-year repayment plans, with zero group credit life insurance premiums and fixed transaction fees.
• Flat 35 (長期固定金利住宅ローン) Government-backed long-term fixed-rate mortgage offered in partnership with the Japan Housing Finance Agency, with industry-lowest interest rates and a 1.10% transaction fee for purchase/construction.
• Reverse Mortgage (リバースモーゲージ) Home equity conversion mortgage allowing senior homeowners to borrow against property value with interest-only monthly payments, designed as a retirement funding solution without requiring the sale of the primary residence.
• Debit Cards (デビットカード) Instant-issue debit cards available on Visa, Mastercard, and JCB networks that earn Rakuten Points (1 point per 100 yen spent), support contactless payments, and enable overseas ATM withdrawals for retail customers.
• Rakuten Bank Card (楽天銀行カード) Combined cash card and credit card product integrating banking account access with credit functionality, with Rakuten Point accumulation on purchases and payments.
• International Remittance (海外送金) Overseas money transfer service supporting multiple currencies, integrated with Viber and Facebook Messenger for convenient sending, accessible via app and online banking for retail customers.
• FX (Foreign Exchange Trading) Leveraged forex trading service provided via partnership with Rakuten Securities, offering various currency pairs with integrated bank account funding.
• Investment Trusts (投資信託) Mutual fund investment service distributed through Rakuten Securities partnership, supporting NISA tax-advantaged accounts for diversified portfolio building.
• Insurance Products (保険) Insurance products including savings-type insurance and various coverage plans with monthly premiums starting from 150 yen, with Rakuten Point accumulation on premium payments.
• Rakuten Bank App (楽天銀行アプリ) Mobile banking application for iOS and Android providing account management, transfers, balance inquiries, card management, and Quick Login via biometric authentication as the primary digital banking interface.
• Money Bridge (マネーブリッジ) Standalone account linkage service connecting Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities accounts, enabling seamless fund transfers, preferential interest rates up to 0.38% p.a., and unified Rakuten Point accumulation, with over 6 million settings as of September 2025.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18 million+ deposit accounts as of March 2026, up from 17 million in May 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rakuten SecuritiescoreTechnology or IntegrationRakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities jointly offer the Money Bridge account linkage service, enabling seamless fund transfers between bank and securities accounts. The bank acts as a financial product intermediary (金融商品仲介) for Rakuten Securities products including NISA accounts, investment trusts, and securities brokerage. Combined bank+securities account opening promotions are run regularly.
• Rakuten MobileminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRakuten Bank partners with Rakuten Mobile to offer preferential interest rates to eligible Rakuten Mobile subscribers (up to 0.64% p.a. additional interest starting February 2026) and cross-promotional campaigns (e.g., up to 13,000 Rakuten Points for new Rakuten Mobile subscribers who are existing Rakuten Bank customers).
• Visa, Mastercard, JCB (Card Networks)coreTechnology or IntegrationRakuten Bank issues debit cards on Visa, Mastercard, and JCB networks. The bank offers multiple debit card tiers including Visa Gold and Visa Silver, Mastercard, JCB, and a special panda-themed JCB card. All cards support contactless (touch) payments and international ATM withdrawals.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SBI Sumishin Net Bank: Japan's largest internet bank by deposit volume and a direct competitor to Rakuten Bank. Operates a digital-first model with similar product mix (deposits, mortgages, securities intermediation, card loans). Closely comparable in product offering, target customer (mass-market retail), and digital delivery model.
• Sony Bank: Japanese internet bank and direct competitor with a similar digital-only value proposition. Offers yen/FX deposits, investment trusts, securities, mortgages, and card loans. Closely matches Rakuten Bank's product portfolio and customer segmentation, with comparable emphasis on competitive deposit rates and low fees.
• Seven Bank: Japanese retail-focused bank with the largest ATM network in the country, with growing digital banking operations. Directly comparable in retail deposit and remittance services, with strong convenience-store ecosystem distribution (7-Eleven).

Emerging players

• PayPay Bank (formerly Seven Bank / Japan Net Bank): Japanese digital bank owned by Z Holdings / SoftBank group. Leverages the PayPay mobile payment ecosystem to drive cross-sell into banking - a structural parallel to Rakuten Bank's Rakuten ecosystem strategy. Represents a credible emerging competitor with similar ecosystem-driven model.

Broad incumbents

• Mizuho Bank: One of Japan's three megabanks and Rakuten Bank's strategic partner (capital and business alliance, May 2026). Provides broader incumbent context: corporate banking, megabank deposit franchise, and project finance capabilities that Rakuten Bank is targeting through the partnership.
• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC): One of Japan's three megabanks and a broad incumbent competitor. Provides traditional banking services with nationwide branch coverage that Rakuten Bank bypasses digitally. Relevant for benchmarking on lending margins, deposit funding costs, and corporate banking capabilities Rakuten is developing.
• Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG): Japan's largest financial group and the dominant megabank. Sets the competitive floor on Japanese deposit rates and lending standards. Key benchmark for Rakuten Bank's interest rate positioning and corporate banking expansion path.
• Japan Post Bank: Japan's largest retail deposit institution by account count, operating through the nationwide post office network. While not a digital peer, it is the most direct incumbent comparable on retail deposit base scale and household customer reach.
• Resona Holdings: Mid-sized Japanese banking group focused on retail and SME banking. Provides broader incumbent context on traditional retail banking economics that Rakuten Bank competes against with its digital cost structure.

Regional players

• Aeon Financial Service: Financial services arm of the Aeon retail conglomerate, combining retail banking, credit cards, and consumer finance. Closely comparable to Rakuten Bank on the 'ecosystem-anchored retail finance' model, with Aeon Group shoppers as the cross-sell funnel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rakuten

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rakuten Bank Japan