ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) has formed a capital and business alliance with Nudge Inc. (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Takashi Okita, Director; hereinafter "Nudge"), a company that offers the next-generation credit card service.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for cashless payment solutions such as credit cards, QR codes and other contactless means. According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, cashless payments in Japan reached a record-high in 2021, exceeding 90 trillion yen. The ratio of cashless payments of domestic consumer spending rose to 32.5%, up 2.8 points YoY.^*1
As intangible consumption pursuing experiences will grow larger than tangible consumption, mainly driven by generation Z and millennials, it is necessary to create a new payment service based on a market-in concept that reflects the diversification of consumers’ values and needs so as to encompass the new payment experience.

Nudge, a leading FinTech company in Japan, offers a next-generation credit card named “Nudge” which significantly improves the cumbersome and painstaking experience in applying for a conventional credit card. Unlike other credit card issuers, Nudge has a unique credit screening system that enables easy and quick issuance of credit cards through its original mobile app. The number of Nudge users is increasing, especially among students and young people.

Also, the “club” feature is a unique function of Nudge, which enables users to support their favorite sports teams and artists through daily payments. Nudge can issue a uniquely designed credit card on an on-demand basis, which allows a club to issue its designed card in a minimum unit as small as one. Therefore the club feature can be used by many different teams and artists who have limited but enthusiastic fan base. So far, nearly 100 clubs have formed alliance with Nudge.

Further, Nudge is engaged in Green FinTech^*2 initiatives through partnerships with municipal governments and business enterprises. For example, it has launched a club for Higashihiroshima City to support tree-planting activities. As an innovator in the credit card industry, Nudge aims to become a challenger bank^*3 in the Web 3 era by offering a wide variety of financial services.

Through the capital and business alliance with Nudge, ITOCHU will leverage its foundation as a general trading company’s business, and support Nudge’s continuous efforts to cultivate new clubs using its network in Japan. As Nudge pursues to become a challenger bank, ITOCHU will also support Nudge’s expansion to new financial services such as loans, asset management and insurance services with continuous efforts that enhances Nudge’s corporate value.

ITOCHU has a broad business portfolio in the retail finance sector, centering on Pocket Card Co., Ltd., an operator of credit card and pay later businesses.
We will continue to develop next-generation financial services in response to the needs of customers who are involved in loan payments, asset management, etc. to enable us to provide these services to companies and consumers.