Keisuke Kimura Wise built its Japanese business in stages: it started with international transfers, broadened its products, added bank distribution, and invested further in local payment infrastructure. Our analysis is that the defining decision was to operate its own regulated Japanese service while expanding what that service could deliver over time. For overseas companies considering Japan, the case offers a concrete way to think about the sequence of market entry and investment.
Why study Wise, Stripe, and PayPal?
Episode 100 of Japan Digital Asset Weekly opens a three-part series on building a business in Japan. Wise, Stripe, and PayPal’s acquisition of Paidy illustrate different approaches: developing a regulated local operation, working with domestic partners, and acquiring an established Japanese business.
We have chosen companies outside digital assets because their longer histories allow us to follow decisions beyond the initial announcement. A launch or transaction creates possibilities; the subsequent years show what companies actually build around them.
The series is intended for founders and leadership teams across digital assets, fintech, and other sectors. Its central question is practical: what should you build yourself, obtain through a partner, or acquire—and what work follows that choice?
A focused starting point
TransferWise, as Wise was then known, established its Japanese entity in June 2014. Its September 2016 launch announcement recorded a funds transfer registration obtained in August 2015. Incorporation, registration, and the full Japanese-language launch therefore took place in three different calendar years.
The initial product addressed a specific customer need: international transfers for individuals, with a visible fee and a separately identifiable exchange rate. Customers could try the service for one transaction without moving their entire financial relationship.
The initial ¥1 million transaction limit constrained the business it could serve. It also left a defined market in which Wise could operate and develop its local offering. A limited initial scope did not prevent a useful product from reaching customers.
Expanding the customer relationship
Business transfers followed in 2018. Multi-currency accounts arrived in July 2020, followed by cards in January 2021. The relationship could now extend beyond sending money to receiving, holding, and spending it.
The significance lies in how these functions connect. Someone who first used Wise for a transfer could later find additional reasons to use the same service. Product expansion could deepen an existing relationship as well as attract another customer segment.
That is a more useful lens than treating each launch as an isolated milestone: what additional part of the customer’s financial activity could the Japanese business now support?
From direct service to bank distribution
In May 2023, GMO Aozora Net Bank launched corporate overseas transfers powered by Wise. The bank said its corporate customers had been requesting the capability.
The arrangement combined different assets. Wise supplied cross-border payment capabilities; the bank brought existing corporate customer relationships and its banking interface. A business that customers could use directly could also reach them through a domestic bank.
For an overseas entrant, this illustrates how operating capability can create distribution options. Building a local business and working with local partners can become complementary parts of an expansion strategy.
Higher limits and deeper infrastructure
Wise announced Type 1 funds transfer authorisation in March 2024, with plans to support eligible transfers of up to ¥150 million. This expanded the transaction sizes its Japanese offering could address. The higher limit applies to the relevant transfer service, rather than every function of a Wise account.
The next milestone concerned domestic connectivity. Wise received approval to join the Zengin payment system in October 2024 and connected in November 2025. More than a year separated approval from operation.
By the time of that connection, Wise had been serving Japan for roughly nine years. Direct access to domestic payment infrastructure became a later stage of development, built on top of an already operating business.
What global firms can learn
In our reading, Wise’s central choice was to commit to a regulated local operation while adding capabilities in stages. The sequence connected customer needs with investment: a useful initial transfer product, broader account functions, additional distribution, higher transaction limits, and deeper infrastructure access.
This does not imply that every company should follow Wise’s route or timetable. The relevant distinction is between capabilities required to deliver the first customer proposition and those that expand its usefulness later. That distinction affects launch scope, staffing, funding, and the role of partners.
Wise’s Japanese website reports more than 1.5 million users in Japan. The figure sits alongside a decade of product and infrastructure development. As a service becomes familiar and covers more recurring needs, it can give customers stronger reasons to keep using it.
That is the opportunity for an entrant prepared to build a local foundation. Trust, convenience, and connected products can support lasting customer relationships. Customer loyalty still needs to be earned through the service itself.
What to watch next
The next question is how Wise uses the capabilities it has assembled. Larger transfers, bank distribution, and domestic connectivity create different ways to serve customers. Evidence of their use will be more informative than counting additional announcements alone.
For companies developing their own Japan strategy, the case invites a specific planning exercise: connect each proposed investment to the customer need or operating constraint it addresses. A licence, partnership, or infrastructure connection becomes commercially meaningful through what it enables the business to deliver.
The next episode examines Stripe and the relationship between a domestic financial partner and continuing local product development.
About Wakyodo
Wakyodo helps global digital asset businesses assess Japan opportunities, identify potential partners, and develop practical market-entry plans. Contact us through our website to discuss your plans: [WAKYODO WEBSITE URL]
Discuss your Japan strategy
Wakyodo helps global digital asset firms understand Japan’s market, identify potential partners, and determine the right entry approach. If your company is evaluating a Japanese partnership, contact Wakyodo to discuss your plans.