GMO Internet, a Japanese online payment provider has received a JPY 8 bn ($65m) investment from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group (MSIG) allowing the company to improve its Payment Gateway e-commerce solution.
GMO is a versatile internet service company operating in Japan. As well as providing domain listing, cloud storage and securities trading, the firm is best known for its Payment Gateway, a service that connects a range of e-commerce businesses to Japanese merchants.
MSIG is one of the largest financial institutions in Japan, holding 27 million retail accounts in the nation. This new relationship with MSIG could vastly increase GMO’s popularity within the region.
‘‘It’s a big step to move into a megabank’s customer base – it’s huge,’’ said Ryu Muramatsu, a founding partner at GMO Venture Partners in an interview with Tech in Asia. “We’ll use most of this funding to help startups – our merchants – grow.’’
GMO are already looking to the future after receiving a cash injection. Only a day before the investment was announced, the payment company released a statement outlining its future goals, as the group aim ‘‘to diversify payment business opportunities by bringing together finance technology and internet technology, and to broaden relationships with large-scale businesses in order to drive ecommerce penetration.’’
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