Question 1

What is 01Bank?

Accepted Answer

01Bank is a digital bank in Japan that specializes exclusively in serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual business owners. It is the first internet-based bank in Japan to focus entirely on corporate clients rather than individual consumers.

Established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Senshu Ikeda Holdings, 01Bank operates with 4 billion yen in total capital and capital surplus. The bank represents a pioneering approach to business lending by leveraging data from cloud-based platforms and e-commerce services to evaluate creditworthiness, moving beyond traditional collateral-based and financial statement-based lending models.

Question 2

When was 01Bank founded?

Accepted Answer

01Bank's establishment began on September 28, 2023, when Senshu Ikeda Holdings announced the creation of 01Bank Establishment Preparatory Company. The bank received its banking business license from Japan's Financial Services Agency on February 28, 2025, and officially changed its name to 01Bank, Ltd. on March 3, 2025.

The bank commenced customer-facing operations on July 28, 2025. The founding was driven by Senshu Ikeda Holdings' "Vision '25" medium-term plan announced in 2020, which outlined the digital bank concept as a way to serve businesses that traditional lending models struggled to accommodate.

Question 3

Where is 01Bank headquartered?

Accepted Answer

01Bank is headquartered on the 19th floor of EDGE Esaka, located at 9-1 Toyotsucho, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Suita is a major city in the Osaka metropolitan area in the Kansai region of western Japan.

As a digital bank, 01Bank operates primarily online without traditional branch locations, allowing it to serve customers throughout Japan from its Osaka headquarters.

Question 4

Where does 01Bank operate?

Accepted Answer

01Bank operates throughout Japan as a digital-first bank, providing services entirely online without physical branches. While headquartered in Osaka, the bank's online platform enables it to serve small and medium-sized enterprises and individual business owners across the country.

The bank's parent company, Senshu Ikeda Holdings, has its traditional regional banking operations centered in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures in the Kansai region, but 01Bank is not geographically constrained in the same way due to its digital-only model.

Question 5

What services does 01Bank offer?

Accepted Answer

01Bank's primary service is data-driven business lending that does not require traditional financial statements or collateral. The bank offers loans typically under 10 million yen per business, with same-day borrowing possible in some cases.

The bank's distinctive "01Bank Score" evaluates businesses by analyzing transaction data from cloud services, e-commerce platforms, and other digital business tools that companies use daily. This scoring system enables faster credit decisions and serves businesses that might not qualify for traditional bank loans.

01Bank operates entirely through digital channels, with all applications and procedures completed online and available 24 hours a day. The bank also plans to expand beyond lending to offer deposit accounts, payment services, and business management advisory services based on data insights.

Question 6

What makes 01Bank unique?

Accepted Answer

01Bank is Japan's first internet bank dedicated exclusively to corporate and business clients rather than individual consumers. Its most distinctive feature is business value-based lending, which evaluates creditworthiness using real-time transaction data from e-commerce platforms, cloud accounting services, and other business software.

The bank partners with platform operators including Makuake (a crowdfunding platform), freee (accounting software), and other cloud service providers to access business data with customer permission. This approach enables the bank to serve startups and micro-businesses that lack the financial track records or collateral required by traditional banks.

01Bank utilizes Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) infrastructure provided by GMO Aozora Net Bank, allowing it to maintain lean operations with lower development costs compared to building proprietary banking systems. The bank targets achieving single-year profitability within three years of launch.

Question 7

What type of financial institution is 01Bank?

Accepted Answer

01Bank is classified as a net bank (ネット銀行) in Japan, which is a category of licensed banking institutions that operate primarily or exclusively through digital channels without traditional physical branches. More specifically, it is described as a "new form of bank" (新たな形態の銀行) that represents an innovative approach within the Japanese banking regulatory framework.

As a fully licensed bank regulated by Japan's Financial Services Agency, 01Bank holds the same banking license as traditional banks but operates with a specialized focus on SME and business lending through digital platforms. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Senshu Ikeda Holdings, a regional banking group listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

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About 01Bank in Japan