By Yasuhiro Kobayashi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

NTT Docomo Inc. is getting serious about strengthening its financial services. Previously the only one of Japan's four major mobile carriers without a bank within its group, it invested approximately 420 billion yen to make SBI Sumishin Net Bank Ltd. a consolidated subsidiary in October. NTT now aims to leverage synergies between its mobile and banking businesses to help it regain its lost market share in the field of mobile services.

Customer loss

SBI Sumishin Net Bank will change its name to Docomo SMTB Net Bank Inc. in August of next year. The new name is meant to boost brand recognition by incorporating the name of Docomo and the abbreviated English name of its joint venture partner, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd.

Customers who designate a bank account for paying Docomo communication fees or making "d Card" credit card payments can receive "d Points" or enjoy increased cashback rates. Docomo subscribers will also have the opportunity to take out home loans at preferential rates. At a press conference on Dec. 19, Docomo President and Chief Executive Officer Yoshiaki Maeda expressed high hopes for the program, saying, "We aim to double our revenue from financial services by around fiscal 2030."

Docomo has seen its share of the mobile market decline from 42.5% at the end of fiscal 2014 to 33.9% at the end of fiscal 2024, under pressure from sources including emerging players like Rakuten Mobile Inc. and low-cost smartphone operators, called mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).

Customers who use all three services -- d Card, d Points and smartphone payments -- tend to cancel their mobile contracts at a rate less than one-third that of other customers. Maeda explained that the company seeks to aggressively use its banking services "to prevent customer attrition."

Late start

Meanwhile, other major mobile carriers already have banks within their groups -- KDDI Corp. has au Jibun Bank Corp., SoftBank Corp. has PayPay Bank Corp. and Rakuten Mobile has Rakuten Bank Ltd. -- and are moving forward with integrating their financial and mobile phone services. Docomo is undeniably making a late start, and attention going forward will be focused on whether it can establish a unique identity.

Even in its core mobile phone business, Docomo lagged behind its competitors in setting up a network compatible with the latest 5G communication standard.

IT journalist Tsutsumu Ishikawa said that Docomo's recent market share decline is "largely a result of the deteriorating quality of its communication services, which became apparent around 2023," a view that many observers strongly agree with.

Docomo aims to rapidly close the gap with its competitors through a dual strategy involving both mobile and banking services. The industry's largest player now faces scrutiny over whether it can finally demonstrate the necessary speed and commitment to drive these plans forward.

----

This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

YDN-M0000167694-1

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 24, 2025 02:28 ET (07:28 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 The Yomiuri Shimbun