"Money Bridge" Service Linking Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities Accounts Surpasses 6 Trillion Yen in Deposit Balance

Tokyo, November 5, 2024 - Rakuten Bank, Ltd. and Rakuten Securities, Inc. today announced that Money Bridge, a service connecting customers’ Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities accounts, has surpassed 6 trillion yen in deposit balance, as of the end of October 2024.

Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities began offering Money Bridge in April 2011 to improve the convenience of services for private asset building and management. Anyone with both a Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities account can apply for a Money Bridge account free of charge. Once setup is complete, users can use the automatic deposit and withdrawal (sweep) function to automatically transfer funds between their securities account and their bank account free of charge. Moreover, a preferential interest rate^*1 is applied to the funds transferred to Rakuten Bank that is up to 1.8 times the regular interest rate offered by Rakuten Bank’s ordinary deposit accounts. This user-friendly and efficient system, combined with its attractive benefits, has been embraced by Rakuten members, leading to the milestone of 6 trillion yen in deposit balance.

In addition to Money Bridge, Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities have expanded their customer base through a range of services utilizing the Rakuten Ecosystem. As a result of these initiatives, Rakuten Bank reached 16 million accounts in July 2024, and Rakuten Securities surpassed 11 million general securities customer accounts in April 2024, marking the largest number of non-consolidated securities accounts^*2 (based on disclosed information) among Japanese securities companies. Many customers are attracted by the convenience of these entirely online fintech services, which never require a visit to a physical location.

Going forward, Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities are committed to effectively utilizing the strengths of the Rakuten Group to deliver innovative and convenient services that surpass those offered by traditional digital banks and online securities companies.

About Money Bridge
Money Bridge is a free service that anyone with both a Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities account can apply for. Once setup is complete, users can use a sweep function that automatically transfers funds between the two accounts. This eliminates the need for users to manually make deposits and withdrawals, resulting in a more seamless transaction experience.

・When making transactions using Rakuten Securities, insufficient funds are automatically withdrawn from the Rakuten Bank account’s deposit balance^*3.

・Funds from the Rakuten Securities account are automatically deposited to the Rakuten Bank account in the evening after each business day. These funds are automatically deposited into the account with a preferential interest rate.

Customers can also earn Rakuten Points when using Rakuten Securities by applying for the Happy Program^*4, the customer loyalty program provided by Rakuten Bank.

See the following for more information on Money Bridge:
https://www.rakuten-bank.co.jp/assets/intermediation/moneybridge/ (*Japanese page)
https://www.rakuten-sec.co.jp/web/bank/ (*Japanese page)

Notes
^*1 The preferential interest rate will be applied for one month to users who have completed setting up the Money Bridge as of the end of the previous month. The interest rate on ordinary deposits is variable and subject to change without prior notice, based on financial conditions. There is an upper limit on the amount of money that is eligible for the preferential interest rate of 0.18% (before tax) per year when registering with Money Bridge:
Ordinary deposit balance of 3 million yen or less: 0.18% per year (0.143% per year after tax)
Ordinary deposit balance exceeding 3 million yen: 0.12% per year (0.095% per year after tax)
Dai-ichi Life branches, OKB branches, NCB branches and accounts with JRE BANK branches are not eligible for preferential interest rates.
^*2 Aggregated by Rakuten Securities from information publicly available on the websites of major online securities companies. As SBI Securities does not disclose the number of non-consolidated accounts, the number of accounts as of the end of March 2021 was used. For Nomura Securities and Daiwa Securities, accounts with balance, and for SMBC Nikko Securities, the total number of accounts was used.
^*3 Products to which automatic sweep applies are domestic stocks (cash transactions (including Kabu Mini® (odd-lot shares) and margin transactions), U.S. stocks (yen-settled (including savings)), investment trusts (regular and savings), yen-denominated bonds, Raku Wrap, IPO/PO, gold, platinum and silver.
^*4 The Happy Program is a customer loyalty program under Rakuten Bank.

Explanation of fees, etc. and risk
When investing in a Rakuten Securities product, certain fees and charges may be associated. Customers may also bear losses due to the fluctuating market value of the product(s). Regarding fees, etc. and risk associated with investing in product(s), customers should carefully read the page detailing the fees, etc. and risk associated with investment on the Rakuten Securities website and the pre-contract documents in order to ensure full understanding. 

Trade name: Rakuten Bank, Ltd. (Rakuten Bank website)
Registration No.: Registered Financial Institution, Kanto Local Finance Bureau No. 609
Trade associations: Japan Securities Dealers Association, Financial Futures Association of Japan

Trade name: Rakuten Securities, Inc. (Rakuten Securities website)
Financial Instruments Business Operator: Kanto Local Finance Bureau (FIBO) No. 195, commodity futures trader
Trade associations: Japan Securities Dealers Association, Financial Futures Association of Japan, Commodity Futures Association of Japan, Type II Financial Instruments Firms Association, Japan Investment Advisers Association

*The information above was originally prepared in Japanese. The English version of this press release is a translation of the original Japanese document and has been provided solely for the convenience of non-Japanese readers. Should any discrepancy between the English translation and the original Japanese version arise, please refer to the Japanese version.