MUFG Emut Bank, the digital bank that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plans to open between January and March 2027, will not issue cash cards, Nikkei Asia, Kyodo and Jiji reported on November 4, citing people familiar with the plan. Customers will instead deposit and withdraw cash at ATMs by using a QR code from the bank’s smartphone app.
The service will start on Seven Bank’s network of about 28,000 ATMs, according to Kyodo (Jiji put the number at about 29,000). FamilyMart is replacing about 16,000 of its ATMs with machines that support smartphone transactions, and those will also accept the app. MUFG Bank is still considering whether to adapt its own machines. The plan in brief:
- A withdrawal needs the phone passcode and an app login, where a card needs only the account PIN; Nikkei Asia linked the choice to a rise in cyberattacks
- Money saved on card issuance is meant to pay for higher deposit rates, which may be tied to customer activity
- Interest is expected to be credited every day, according to Jiji and Kyodo
Kyodo said Emut would be the first bank affiliated with a major Japanese lender to go without cash cards. Minna Bank, the online bank owned by Fukuoka Financial Group, already works this way.
Why it matters: For decades the plastic card and four-digit PIN have been the standard credential for cash in Japan, and MUFG is the first megabank group to drop it for a new bank. Customers who lose a phone or cannot use the app will need another route to their cash, and none of the reports say what that is. The model also puts Seven Bank and FamilyMart, whose machines are being upgraded first, at the centre of MUFG’s digital retail plans, while its own ATM network waits on a decision.
Source: Nikkei Asia, November 4, 2026; Kyodo via The Mainichi, November 4, 2026; Jiji via The Japan Times, November 4, 2026
Image: Rebirth10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
