The Financial Services Agency on Wednesday formally issued banking licenses to IY Bank, a subsidiary of Ito-Yokado Co., and to Sony Bank, a subsidiary of Sony Corp.
They are the first banking licenses to be issued to nonfinancial businesses in Japan.
IY Bank, which received a preliminary license April 6, will open sometime next month via a network of automatic teller machines at Seven-Eleven and other retail outlets. Seven-Eleven is an Ito-Yokado group company.
The range of services will be limited but will include deposits, withdrawals and cash remittances.
The Ito-Yokado group will initially install ATMs at its retail outlets in Tokyo, its surrounding areas and Kanagawa Prefecture, with an eventual goal of creating a nationwide network of 3,500 ATMs.
Sony Bank, which acquired preliminary approval in March and plans to open in June, will be operated exclusively via the Internet.
Sony Bank has said its goal is to get 600,000 computer users to open accounts and to collect deposits totaling 1 trillion yen within five years.