SMBC Group and Recruit collaborate in business and management services

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Recruit have signed a basic agreement to start considering collaboration for providing financial services through the business and management support service “Air Business Tools” operated by Recruit.

Currently in Japan, the decreasing working-age population is causing a serious structural labor shortage, making it a challenge to improve productivity through operational efficiency. The proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises is high compared to the rest of the world, and the importance of digitalization for corporate-oriented businesses is increasing.

The SMBC Group’s vision is to be a “global solution provider that grows together with our customers and society through the highest level of trust.” Its business strategy is to provide high value-added solutions to corporate clients. In particular, for its small and medium-sized enterprise business, the focus is on digital marketing for building new business models and comprehensive digitalization by examining digital touchpoints.

Recruit’s strategy is to contribute to improving the production and performance of its corporate clients in Japan under the vision of “Help Businesses Work Smarter.” Through its business and management support service “Air Business Tools,” Recruit aims to revitalize the Japanese economy as a whole by revitalizing small and medium-sized enterprises and improving productivity.

Based on the signing of this agreement, the SMBC Group will work with Recruit’s “Air Business Tools” to consider collaborating on providing financial services, including the development of digital solutions.

In the future, we will start accepting applications for opening Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation accounts through “Air Pay,” one of the “Air Business Tools” cashless payment services. In addition, Sumitomo Mitsui Card has been conducting an implementation experiment since January 2024 to handle the merchant contract business for the “Invoice Factoring Service” provided by Recruit.

The SMBC Group and Recruit aim to provide new value-added services by combining the SMBC Group’s various business know-how with Recruit’s abundant contact points with businesses and consumers, diverse behavioral data, and UI/UX development capabilities.

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