• GMO PAYMENT GATEWAY

GMO Payment Gateway and GMO Venture Partners' Dedicated Payment Solutions Investment Fund Receives Contribution from Credit SaisonBy GMO Payment Gateway and GMO Venture Partners
Japan First payment Credit Saison Joins Specialized Global Payment Fund Investment Partnership
~The first investment project is "Coda Payments PTE. LTD.~

December 3, 2013

GMO Payment Gateway, Inc.
GMO VenturePartners Co., Ltd.
Credit Saison Inc.

GMO Internet Group develops non-face-to-face credit card payment processing business GMO Payment Gateway, Inc. (TSE part: Securities code 3769 Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, President & Chief Executive Officer: Issei Ainoura hereinafter referred to as "GMO-PG") and GMO VenturePartners, which conducts venture investment and incubation business Jointly established by Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Masatoshi Kumagai, hereinafter referred to as "GMO-VP"), this is the first Japan to invest in payment-related businesses in Southeast Asia (*1) payment Credit Saison Co., Ltd. (TSE Partial: Securities code 8253 Headquarters: Toshima-ku, Tokyo, President & Chief Executive Officer: Hiroshi Hayashino, hereinafter referred to as "Credit Saison") participated. With the participation of Credit Saison and others, the total amount of the fund was 1.5 billion yen.
In addition, on December 3, 2013, the Fund became the first investment project in Southeast Asia to provide the first "Direct Carrier Billing payment Service for Multiple Carriers" Coda Payments PTE. LTD. (Headquarters: Singapore, CEO: Neil Davidson, hereinafter referred to as "Coda Payments") invested US$1,000,000 as the lead investor (*2) of Series A finance totaling US$2,300,000. With this funding, Coda Payments plans to expand into countries surrounding Indonesia, accelerate partnerships with major carriers, and acquire more merchants.

【Background and Summary】

In Southeast Asia, which is expected to grow the most over the next 10 years, the e-commerce market is currently expanding rapidly, with the spread of smartphones and the increase in Internet users expected to reach approximately 1 trillion yen (*3). In addition, with the expansion of the e-commerce market, promising payment ventures have been born, and investment from venture capital (VC) and major business companies has been successive. In light of these future developments in Southeast Asia, the Fund will invest in payment processing business in earnest and provide services mainly in Southeast Asian and East Asian countries and regions such as Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. GMO-PG Global Payment, a overseas payment service that GMO-PG provides mainly in countries and regions in Southeast Asia and East Asia. We will form a network of portfolio companies to promote the creation of business opportunities, and in the future, we will invite a wide range of payment-related businesses to participate for a limited period of one year, aiming for a fund of 3 billion yen.

On the other hand, Credit Saison intends to expand its local network by using the fast-growing payment field as a foothold for full-fledged overseas business in Southeast Asia, and in the future, we would like to develop a retail finance business such as a credit card business, installment of individual items, and loan business, making use of the know-how cultivated in Japan Japan.

Through this fund, GMO-PG, GMO-VP, and Credit Saison, the three companies that participated in this fund, will expand their payment-related businesses and know-how to Southeast Asia and strengthen their business collaboration. In addition, GMO Internet Group and Credit Saison will collaborate on Internet-related services and payment-related services in Japan.
GMO-PG will take this investment as an opportunity to provide carrier payment services in Southeast Asia through its overseas payment service "GMO-PG Global Payment" through a partnership with Coda Payments' first multi-carrier billing payment service in Southeast Asia.

  • (*1) According to our research.
  • (*2) Series A financing is an investment in a start-up company and refers to the first full-fledged funding funding funded by a VC in preferred equity. A lead investor is a venture capital firm that leads the fundraising.
  • (*3) Calculated by the Company from eMarketer, Barclays Capital, and Quora. (Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines BtoC EC market size)

■Coda Payments PTE. Background to the investment in LTD.

Coda Payments PTE. LTD. will realize micropayment services in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, through the first "Direct Carrier Billing payment for Multiple Carriers" (a new carrier payment that does not use an SMS system) for Southeast Asia. Since it is possible to payment without a credit card and with a small amount, it is expected to acquire a large number of users in Indonesia, which has a population of 250 million. In terms of relationships with carriers in the region and bargaining power, the company was evaluated as having a high competitive advantage, which led to the investment.

【GMO Payment Gateway】

GMO Payment Gateway provides credit cards and other payment processing services to more than 40,000 merchants (as of September 2013 of the GMO Payment Gateway Group), including non-face-to-face sales businesses such as online shops, content developed on social media and smartphones, businesses that charge monthly fees such as NHK, and public entity stores such as the Japan Pension Service and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. We aim to make payment safe and convenient for consumers and businesses, and to be the infrastructure for Japan payment processes. As a leading company in the payment industry, we will drive innovation and contribute to improving the EC ratio of Japan. In overseas markets, we will work with payment processing business companies in various countries to expand our overseas payment service "GMO-PG Global Payment".

About GMO VenturePartners Inc.

GMO VenturePartners is a VC firm that brings together the collective strengths of GMO Internet Group companies to discover and create excellent projects specializing in the Internet field and provide support directly linked to revenue after investment. At present, five portfolio companies have achieved IPOs, and the main funds have already achieved investment returns that exceed the principal amount of funds. In the past, we have invested in Qihoo 360 Technology Co., Ltd., which boasts the No. 1 market share in the security field in mainland China, and achieved an IPO, and we have also raised Actual overseas.

About Credit Saison Co., Ltd.

We began issuing credit cards in 1982, and for about 30 years since then, we have established a unique position in the industry by creating new products and services with innovative ideas that are not bound by the common sense of the card industry, while always maintaining a thorough customer orientation as a leading service company. It is one of the largest credit card companies in the Japan with approximately 35 million cardholders in the group, and its online business has 9.5 million online members, centered on the online shopping mall "Eternal .com (dot.com)". Currently, with the aim of becoming a "non-bank with multiple revenue sources," we are actively engaged in the finance business such as leasing/rental, credit guarantee, and flat 35, as well as the Internet business, which is expected to grow at the highest rate, and the retail finance business in the Asian market, where economic development is remarkable.

Related URL
Global Payment Fund Investment Partnership
URL : http://gmo-vp.com/gpf
GMO-PG (Company Profile)
URL : http://corp.gmo-pg.com/
GMO-PG (Service)
URL : http://www.gmo-pg.com/
GMO-VP Site
URL : http://www.gmo-vp.com
Credit Saison Corporate Site
URL : http://www.saisoncard.co.jp/
Media Inquiries
GMO Payment Gateway, Inc. Corporate Value Creation Strategy Investor Relations Group, Corporate Investment & Public Relations Group
TEL

+81-3-3464-0182

FAX

03-3464-2387

E-mail
ir@gmo-pg.com
GMO VenturePartners Co., Ltd.
TEL

03-5458-8663

FAX

03-3780-2611

E-mail
info@gmo-vp.com
GMO Internet, Inc. Group Public Relations, Investor Relations Department Hosoda, Ishii
TEL

+81-3-5456-2695

FAX

03-3780-2611

E-mail
pr@gmo.jp
Credit Saison Co., Ltd. Public Relations Office Murakoshi Tada
TEL

03-3982-0700

FAX

03-5391-4392

【GMO Payment Gateway, Inc.】 (URL: http://corp.gmo-pg.com/

Corporate Name

GMO Payment Gateway, Inc. (TSE First Section / Stock Code : 3769)

Location 1-14-6 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Shibuya Humax Building
Representative President & Chief Executive Officer Issei Ainoura
Business Description ■ payment processing services such as credit cards and ancillary services

[GMO VenturePartners Co., Ltd.] (URL: http://www.gmo-vp.com

Corporate Name

GMO VenturePartners Co., Ltd.

Location Cerulean Tower 26-1, Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Representative Representative Director Masatoshi Kumagai, Founding Partner Ryu Muramatsu
Business Description ■Investment in listed and unlisted IT venture companies in Japan and overseas, support for business expansion, support for improving corporate value, etc.
■ Fund management (hereinafter referred to as "fund under management")
GMO VenturePartners Investment Limited Partnership
Blog: Business Fund Investment Limited Partnership
Social Ad & Commerce Technology Fund Investment Partnership
GMO VenturePartners 3 Investment Limited Partnership
Total amount of approximately 3 billion yen
■Major Investments Actual
Qihoo 360 Technology Co,Ltd. (NYSE), Next (TSE part), Full Speed (TSE Mothers), Vector (TSE Mothers), Axelmark (TSE Mothers), GMO Click Securities, Sansan, Webrio, Kauli, VASILY, Uzabase, Lock-On, About 40 companies, including Aratana, Lancers, Kaizen, and Coda Payments

【GMO Internet, Inc.】 (URL: http://www.gmo.jp/

Corporate Name GMO Internet, Inc. (TSE First Section / Stock Code : 9449)
Location Cerulean Tower 26-1, Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Representative Chairman and CEO / Group Representative Masatoshi Kumagai
Business Description

■ WEB infrastructure and EC business
■Internet Media Business
■Internet Securities Business
■Social & Smartphone-related Business

[Credit Saison Co., Ltd.] (URL: http://www.saisoncard.co.jp/

Corporate Name Credit Saison Co., Ltd. (TSE First Section Securities Code: 8253)
Location 3-1-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo Mr./Ms. Shine 60
Representative President & Chief Executive Officer Hiroshi Hayashino
Business Description

■Credit service business, leasing business, finance business, etc.