MUFG Bank Chooses Minna Bank’s Full Cloud-Based Banking System

Minna Bank has announced that the full cloud-based banking system developed and operated by Zerobank Design Factory (ZDF), a subsidiary of Fukuoka Financial Group, operating on Google Cloud, has been selected as the core system for the newly established digital bank by MUFG Bank.

“Launched in May 2021 as Japan’s first digital bank, Minna Bank now serves 1.3 million accounts and many customers nationwide. Minna Bank has been advancing three businesses: the B2C business providing financial services to individuals, the B2B2X business offering financial functions and services to partner companies via API, and the banking system provision business,” said Kenichi Nagayoshi, President and CEO at ZDF and Minna Bank.

Nagayoshi further stated: “Since its inception, the bank has accumulated and updated its technologies and expertise related to systems, functionalities, and design required for a digital bank. As a result, we believe that the recent first external provision of our system marks a valuable milestone. Moving forward, we hope to contribute, even if just a little, to the development of the digital banking market both domestically and internationally through the provision of this system.”

In 2022, ZDF announced its plans to offer the system to both local and global financial institutions, as well as non-financial entities seeking to launch banking services. This marks the first instance of ZDF extending the system to external organisations.

“Our collaboration with Minna Bank reinforces that cloud-based technology can deliver flexibility, speed, and reliability for core systems within global banks. Minna Bank’s use of Google Cloud’s advanced technologies—like Google Kubernetes Engine for elastic scale, Spanner for global data consistency, and Vertex AI for intelligent insights—is a blueprint for accelerating digital transformation far beyond banking, enabling industries from retail to mobility to seamlessly embed financial services and create new value for their customers,” noted  Toby Brown, Global Managing Director, Regulated Industries, at Google Cloud.

Looking ahead, ZDF aims to address the challenges faced by companies entering the banking industry and other sectors through the provision of the system, thereby contributing to the growth and innovation of the digital banking market both domestically and globally.

“In Japanese banks, the need for increased management speed has highlighted key challenges with the inefficiency and high costs of existing core systems. One effective solution to address this is the adoption of a cloud-based and microservice platform bank system. This system incorporates numerous advanced technologies, including multi-cloud, microservice architecture and DevSecOps. Designed to enhance new banking systems, this solution significantly contributes to the growth of services, accelerates deployment speed, and improves operational efficiency,” added Masashi Nakano, Senior Managing Director, Lead, Financial Services, Asia Pacific and Japan, at Accenture.

He concluded: “This innovative system with its modular design and capability for partial integration with existing systems offers versatile applications for banks, non-bank financial institutions, and non-financial entities both domestically and globally. Accenture will continue to collaborate with financial institutions to address management challenges and contribute to their growth.”

Japan’s First Digital Bank | Minna Bank Case Study | Accenture