Nium executive vice president Anupam Pahuja / Photo credit: Nium
Nium, a fintech firm backed by GIC and Temasek, has secured a payments license from Japan’s financial regulator to handle large-amount transactions in the country.
The Type 1 Funds Transfer Service Provider license, issued by the Japanese Financial Services Agency, authorizes Nium to provide a wide range of financial services. This includes offering fund transfers of up to 50 million yen (US$334,000) per transaction via Zengin-Net, Japan’s payment clearing network, to a Japanese beneficiary account.
Nium said that it is the first global company to have met the Type 1 license standards, “with the JFSA recognizing its ability to integrate with local payment rails, deliver real-time transactions, provide transparent costs, and offer significantly cheaper rates.”
Anupam Pahuja, Nium’s executive vice president of Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, noted that the company has become an alternative to banks for large fund transfers into and out of Japan.
In its FY 2022 financials released last August, Nium’s revenue surged over 266% year on year, while its losses rose 28.1% to S$68.8 million (US$51 million). It has also been actively expanding into Malaysia and Japan.
Nium co-founder and CEO Prajit Nanu said last July that the company aims to break even in time for a US IPO by end-2024. It was then valued at US$2 billion.
See also: Out with the middlemen: More firms tap banks, BaaS providers for embedded finance
Currency converted from Japanese yen and Singapore dollar to US dollar: US$1 = 149.81 yen; US$1 = S$1.34.
This story was republished with permission from The Business Times. It was moderately edited to reflect Tech in Asia’s editorial guidelines.
Editing by Lorenzo Kyle Subido
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