Japan net bank deposit & feature matrix 2026

TL;DR

Japan’s online-bank market is not one homogeneous category. Operators differ by group ownership, direct-versus-partner distribution, product scope, and public disclosure format. This page therefore records where each claim can be verified rather than freezing volatile balances, rates, fees, rankings, or launch assumptions into a long-lived table. Use each bank’s current product page for customer terms, its latest disclosure or IR material for balance-sheet figures, and the FSA register for licence status.

Wiki route

This page sits under banking index as a 2026-vintage deposit-and-feature comparison surface. The segment-level framing lives in Japan net bank competition map and Japan banking license tier comparison matrix. Specific per-bank pages: Sony Bank, UI Bank, GMO Aozora Net Bank, Daiwa Next Bank, Rakuten Bank, PayPay Bank, au Jibun Bank, Minna Bank BaaS model, Mercari Bank, Mercari Bank license stack. Operating models live in Japan BaaS operating models and regional bank API digital partnership route. Post-megabank context: post-megabank positioning.

Why deposit feature comparison matters in 2026

Three structural shifts make a deposit-and-feature comparison especially useful in 2026.

1. Rate normalisation has restarted deposit competition. BOJ’s exit from negative-rate policy across 2024-2025 returned positive short-rate territory, which broke the multi-year “all deposit rates are zero” simplification. Net banks are again differentiating on tiered rates, FX deposits, and structured deposit products — see Japan net bank competition map for the segment-level framing.
2. Embedded finance via bank API is the new BaaS surface. The bank API regime under fintech has matured into mainstream distribution. Japan BaaS operating models documents partner-branch and white-label account architectures. Net banks differ materially in whether they publish bank APIs, white-label account containers, or both.
3. Mortgage origination has become a primary scale axis for net banks. Sony Bank, au Jibun Bank, and Rakuten Bank each run sizeable variable-rate mortgage flows. Japan acquisition finance context and post-megabank positioning explain why net-bank mortgages now compete head-on with megabank originators in the variable-rate book.

Bank universe in scope

Eleven banks anchor the comparison:

• Ecosystem-anchored retail — Rakuten Bank, PayPay Bank, au Jibun Bank.
• Securities-adjacent / asset-formation — Sony Bank, Daiwa Next Bank, SBI Shinsei context entries via Sumishin SBI Net Bank (the NEOBANK / mortgage-anchor net bank).
• Corporate API / SME — GMO Aozora Net Bank.
• BaaS / partner-led — Minna Bank (Fukuoka FG digital-bank brand), Sumishin SBI Net Bank NEOBANK partner stack.
• Regional digital — UI Bank (Tokyo Kiraboshi FG).
• Fintech-issued — Mercari Bank (2025-2026 launch).
• Postal / government-anchored — Japan Post Bank digital channel (Yucho Direct + Yucho Pay) is included as a digital-channel comparison even though it is not a pure net bank.

The cohort excludes corporate-only digital lenders (e.g. Funds), wallet-only operators (PayPay Card without the bank entity), and pre-launch projects.

Core matrix — entity and disclosure route

Sources: ^[FSA licensed-bank register, https://www.fsa.go.jp/menkyo/menkyoj/ginkou.xlsx; each bank’s official corporate, disclosure, IR, and product pages listed in this entry.]

Core matrix — product evidence map

Sources: ^[FSA electronic-payment-services materials, https://www.fsa.go.jp/common/about/pamphlet/dendaigyo_start.pdf; official bank product and disclosure pages listed in the frontmatter.]

Publication protocol for volatile comparisons

Sources: ^[Official bank disclosures and customer terms listed in the frontmatter; FSA licensed-bank register, https://www.fsa.go.jp/menkyo/menkyoj/ginkou.xlsx.]

Differentiation axes

Deposit-base comparison

Deposit scale is comparable only after aligning the balance-sheet date, entity perimeter, account definition, and unit. A bank-wide figure must not be compared with a digital-channel subset, and a direct-account count must not be compared with a count that includes partner-brand accounts. This page therefore routes readers to dated disclosures rather than maintaining an approximate league table.

FX-product depth as differentiation

Sony Bank occupies the FX-depth corner explicitly. au Jibun Bank is the closest peer with multi-currency FX deposits and FX margin trading. Rakuten Bank and PayPay Bank offer narrower FX product menus. The non-FX banks (Daiwa Next Bank, Minna Bank, Mercari Bank) cede the FX-customer segment.

Mortgage origination as scale lever

Variable-rate mortgages remain the largest single asset class for net banks that have entered the mortgage market. Sumishin SBI Net Bank is the largest net-bank originator. Sony Bank and au Jibun Bank follow. Rakuten Bank originates via group structures. PayPay Bank and Daiwa Next Bank do not anchor mortgages.

Bank-API publishing posture

Three publishing tiers are observable:

• Extensive corporate API — GMO Aozora Net Bank is the anchor; explicit corporate-treasury and SaaS-connector API focus.
• Extensive BaaS / white-label — Sumishin SBI Net Bank (NEOBANK) and Minna Bank BaaS. These let partner brands publish their own bank-like UX while the bank holds the licence.
• Standard retail bank API — most others. Bank API is published for the electronic payment agency / FA regime but the bank does not pursue white-label distribution.

Embedded-finance partner ecosystem

The embedded-finance partner column reveals which net banks are competing on distribution surface versus direct customer-acquisition. Sumishin SBI Net Bank partners with JAL, Yamada, T (CCC), and others through NEOBANK; Minna Bank partners with Recruit and others; GMO Aozora Net Bank integrates with freee, MoneyForward, payroll SaaS. The ecosystem retail banks (Rakuten Bank, PayPay Bank, au Jibun Bank) lean on their own group ecosystem rather than third-party partner brands.

Cluster summary — competitive map by lever

A useful cluster reading:

• FX + asset-formation cluster — Sony Bank, Daiwa Next Bank, au Jibun Bank.
• Mortgage origination cluster — Sumishin SBI Net Bank, Sony Bank, au Jibun Bank, Rakuten Bank.
• Ecosystem-wallet cluster — Rakuten Bank, PayPay Bank, au Jibun Bank.
• BaaS / partner cluster — Sumishin SBI Net Bank NEOBANK, Minna Bank.
• Corporate / SME API cluster — GMO Aozora Net Bank.
• Regional digital cluster — UI Bank, 01 Bank (peer reference).
• Fintech-issued cluster — Mercari Bank.
• Postal anchor — Japan Post Bank.

Source caveats

1. Balance and account figures require a reporting date, unit, and entity perimeter; use the latest bank disclosure rather than an estimate copied from this page.
2. Account definitions may or may not include BaaS-partner accounts; preserve the issuer’s definition.
3. Fees, rates, campaigns, and FX spreads change frequently; use current customer terms and record the retrieval date.
4. Product availability can change by customer segment or channel; absence from this matrix is not evidence that a bank does not offer the product.
5. Partnership status must be taken from dated announcements by the parties and must distinguish announcement from launch.
6. Licence status must be checked against the current FSA register.

Research checklist

When extending this matrix:

1. Pull the bank IR page or quarterly disclosure for deposit balance and account count.
2. Cross-check via FSA Bank Information Disclosure aggregate.
3. Read the bank’s API developer portal for bank-API depth and partner list.
4. Use the BaaS operating models page to classify the bank’s BaaS posture.
5. Use quick deposit four methods for payment-channel context.
6. Use banking license tier comparison to confirm licence category.

Related

• INDEX
• japan-net-bank-competition-map
• japan-banking-license-tier-comparison-matrix
• japan-baas-operating-models
• post-megabank-positioning
• sony-bank
• ui-bank
• gmo-aozora-net-bank
• daiwa-next-bank
• rakuten-bank
• paypay-bank
• au-jibun-bank
• minna-bank-baas-model
• mercari-bank
• mercari-bank-license-stack
• sumishin-sbi-net-bank
• regional-bank-api-digital-partnership-route
• quick-deposit-four-methods
• rakuten-group-mobile-finance-bundling-case
• sony-fg-partial-spinoff-case
• gmo-internet-group
• japan-post-bank
• sbi-hd
• mufg
• daiwa-sg
• 01-bank
• FinWiki index

Sources

• FSA licensed bank list and bank disclosure aggregate.
• Sony Bank corporate profile and product disclosure.
• UI Bank corporate site and product page.
• GMO Aozora Net Bank company outline and corporate API documentation.
• Daiwa Next Bank corporate disclosure and securities-sweep documentation.
• Rakuten Bank press releases and group disclosure.
• PayPay Bank company information and product pages.
• Sumishin SBI Net Bank corporate profile and NEOBANK partner disclosure.
• au Jibun Bank performance disclosure.
• Minna Bank corporate site and BaaS partner page.
• Mercari Bank launch disclosure.
• Japan Post Bank IR.