Smooth

What Smooth does

Smooth Inc. (株式会社スムーズ) is a Tokyo-based PropTech/fintech company founded in May 2019 that operates a rental initial cost installment payment service across Japan. The company allows prospective renters to move into apartments with zero upfront cash outlay by advancing the security deposit, key money, and brokerage fees to the real estate partner and recovering the amount from the renter via 3- to 48-month installment plans; in return, the company collects handling charges (15-18% effective annual rate depending on plan and contract date) and referral fees from partner real estate agencies. As of the most recent disclosure, Smooth has 440,000 registered users and a partner network of 2,600 real estate agencies across 29 Japanese prefectures, with flagship partner Aerlas Group (67 Greater Tokyo stores) generating 3,000+ annual contract referrals.

The platform's core technology is a LINE-based digital onboarding flow with an automated eligibility decision returned in as fast as 30 seconds, requiring no physical documentation for most applicants. Smooth is registered as an Individual Credit Purchase Intermediary (個別信用購入あっせん業) under Kanto (Individual) No. 104, is a member of the Japan Consumer Credit Association, and accesses credit bureau data via CIC. The company has raised approximately 42.2 billion JPY cumulatively, including a 28.5 billion JPY Series B (December 2025) led by Maezawa Fund and a 7 billion JPY Series C (June 2026) led by JIC Venture Growth Investments, and operates a 40 billion JPY SPC-based receivables securitization scheme (GKTK Scheme) in partnership with Itochu Corporation to fund its growing loan book.

Smooth's go-to-market is B2B2C: real estate agents recommend Smooth to cost-hesitant renters during the apartment search, while a parallel direct-to-consumer motion captures organic search traffic and converts users via the smooth.jp website and LINE official account. Customer segments include working individuals, students, couples, and families in their 20s-30s constrained by Japan's 5-6 month upfront rental cost burden. The company's economics have been historically subsidized by partner referral fees, but a 2026 repricing to a standardized 18% APR across all installment plans signals a deliberate shift toward direct consumer interest income.

Name

Smooth

Legal name

株式会社スムーズ

Website

https://smooth.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Smooth Inc. (株式会社スムーズ) is a Tokyo-based PropTech/fintech founded in 2019 that lets Japanese renters move into apartments with zero upfront cash by financing security deposits, key money, and brokerage fees via 3-48 month installment plans distributed through 2,600+ partner real estate agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rental Installment Financing

SIC

Finance Lessors (6172)

akta.pro primary industry

Rent-to-Own (RTO) Consumer Leasing (FSAKANAE)

Keywords

• Rental installment financing
• Consumer credit services
• Real estate fintech
• Rental initial costs
• Property payment solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Transaction fee from partner real estate agencies: Smooth charges no fees to the end consumer (customer) for using the installment service. Instead, the company generates revenue by receiving client referral fees (広告費/紹介料) from real estate agencies (加盟店) that partner with Smooth. Real estate agents recommend Smooth to tenants burdened by upfront costs; in exchange, the agency pays Smooth a referral fee. This B2B2C model allows zero-fee access for consumers while creating a two-sided marketplace between Smooth and the real estate partner network.
2. Installment interest / handling charges (分割手数料): Smooth charges an installment handling fee (実質年率) to consumers who choose installment plans. For contracts signed through December 31, 2025: 3-installment plan is interest-free (0% handling charge); 6-48 installments at 15% APR. From April 1, 2026: all plans (3/6/12/24/36/48 installments) carry 18% APR. The primary revenue from real estate agency referral fees historically subsidized consumer fees, but the company has been shifting to directly charging consumers installment interest as the business scales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Smooth provides a rental initial cost installment payment (分割払い) service that allows Japanese renters to move into apartments with zero upfront payment by converting security deposits, key money, and brokerage fees (敷金・礼金・仲介手数料) into 3 to 48 monthly installments. The service is delivered through a LINE-based digital application with an automated credit decisioning system that returns eligibility decisions in as fast as 30 seconds, and is distributed primarily through a network of 2,600+ partner real estate agencies that refer tenants at no cost to the consumer.

Product overview

Smooth operates as a single unified consumer-facing service — a rental initial cost installment payment (分割払い) platform. The core product, スムーズ (Smooth), enables users to move into rental apartments with zero initial payment burden by converting upfront costs (敷金, 礼金, 仲介手数料) into monthly installments. Supporting sub-features include the 1秒スピード診断 (1-second eligibility check), お支払いシミュレーション (payment simulator), and 分割プラン (installment plan options). The service is powered by an '個別信用購入あっせん' (individual credit purchase intermediary) registration and operates through LINE for user registration and partner real estate agencies across Japan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smooth (スムーズ) Rental Initial Cost Installment Payment Service Rental initial cost installment payment service that advances the upfront rental costs (敷金 security deposit, 礼金 key money, 仲介手数料 brokerage fees) to the real estate company on behalf of the renter, allowing move-in with zero initial payment and repayment over 3 to 48 monthly installments. Target users are individual Japanese renters, students, part-time workers, and families seeking to preserve savings or move faster.

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• アパートマン (Apartmentman)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 7 August 2025First partner real estate agency in Ishikawa prefecture and the entire Hokuriku region. Adopted Smooth with zero financial risk (no setup, monthly, or transaction fees) to offer flexible payment options to tenants. Demonstrates Smooth's expansion into regional Japan beyond major metropolitan areas.
• アエラスグループ (Aerlas Group)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 8 June 2025Aerlas Group operates 67 real estate stores in the Greater Tokyo area and has generated 3,000+ annual contract referrals through Smooth. Their success demonstrates Smooth's value proposition to real estate agencies: converting cost-hesitant customers and improving close rates. Aerlas Group president cited Smooth as enabling deals that would otherwise be lost.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• SMBC Consumer Finance (Promise): SMBC Consumer Finance operates the Promise brand, one of Japan's three largest consumer finance companies. Promise provides unsecured personal loans and credit-installment lending to Japanese consumers under the same regulatory regime as Smooth, but at substantially broader scale and across general-purpose consumer credit.
• Recruit Holdings (SUUMO): Recruit operates SUUMO, Japan's largest real estate search portal with dominant rental listings traffic. As the dominant rental search platform, SUUMO/Recruit could integrate its own financing products, making it both a potential partner and a competitor to Smooth by capturing renters earlier in the funnel.
• LIFULL Co., Ltd. LIFULL operates one of Japan's largest real estate portals (LIFULL HOME'S) and could integrate installment financing directly into its rental search experience. Smooth's B2B2C partner-agency model parallels LIFULL's relationship with real estate brokers, making it a comparable platform in the Japanese rental housing marketplace.
• Aiful Corporation: Aiful is a publicly traded Japanese consumer finance company providing personal loans, credit cards, and installment credit. While Aiful's scope is broader than Smooth's rental-deposit niche, both operate under the same Japanese consumer credit regulatory framework and serve consumer financing demand with installment products.
• Money Forward, Inc. Money Forward is one of Japan's largest fintech companies, providing personal finance management, accounting software, and payment solutions. While Money Forward is primarily a financial-management software provider rather than a BNPL lender, both companies operate in the Japanese fintech ecosystem with overlapping regulatory frameworks and customer overlap.
• AtHome Inc. AtHome is a Japanese real estate portal with strong coverage in rental listings. Like SUUMO and LIFULL, AtHome could integrate financing options into its listings or partner recommendations, creating both partnership opportunities and competitive pressure on Smooth's B2B2C agent model.

Emerging players

• Kyash Inc. Kyash is a Japanese payment app/wallet offering installment payment options (3- or 6-installment) integrated with Visa cards. While Kyash is more consumer-payment focused than real estate finance, its installment offerings place it in the same Japanese BNPL competitive set as Smooth.

Direct peers

• atone (Net Protections): Net Protections operates atone, one of Japan's leading BNPL services offering monthly installment (3- or 6-installment) options to consumers. Like Smooth, atone provides installment credit with monthly payments—a directly comparable business model—though atone addresses general retail while Smooth specializes in real estate rental deposits.
• Paidy (PayPay Corporation / Z Holdings): Paidy is one of Japan's largest BNPL platforms (now part of PayPay under Z Holdings). Paidy offers interest-free and interest-bearing 3- or 6-installment plans across Japanese retail—the same core installment mechanism as Smooth—though at much larger scale and broader scope (general retail rather than rental deposits).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCzLdKJQkYpV9kDO2l4g4kbg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smoothinc
• Xx.com/smooth_inc_

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors11 records

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 Smooth