Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank may finally apply fintech to its future operations given its growing influence on global payments, settlements and financial services, reported Reuters. Signaling that the BOJ is ready to initiate research to promote Japanese fintech given it has “various implications” for central banking, Kuroda told a seminar hosted by the bank today.
“The BOJ is ready to make its best efforts to support the sound development of fintech to enhance the welfare of financial service users as well as economic activities,” Kuroda stated.
The country as a whole has yet to embrace internet finance, despite possessing the world’s third largest economy as measured by nominal GDP. In an earlier report in Reuters, Japan invested the nominal sum of $44 million during the first 9 months of 2015 while China invested $2.7 billion and the US dedicated $7.4 billion. As an additional counterpoint, Israel fintech start-ups raised about $369 million in 2014. According to Crowdfund Insider‘s JD Alois, “The only thing growing in Japan these days is their national debt. Perhaps a solid jolt of financial innovation and risk taking is just the prescription the financial sector needs.”
