By Kentaro Otsuka

Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. $(MUFG)$ aims to become Asia's top player in the transaction banking sector, which handles foreign exchange, settlements, trade finance and more for corporate customers. Masahiro Matsumoto, head of the Transaction Banking Division at MUFG Bank Ltd., who has worked in this field for a quarter-century, spoke about the group's future strategy in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.

The following is excerpted from the interview.

Extensive overseas network

The Yomiuri Shimbun: How do you view the current state of the business?

Masahiro Matsumoto: With approximately 1,300 employees -- 600 in Japan and 700 overseas -- we are one of the largest divisions within MUFG Bank. Our business domain encompasses every aspect of global payments, driving cash (deposits), trade and FX (foreign exchange). We expect gross profit from combined domestic and international foreign exchange settlements and foreign currency deposits to reach nearly 600 billion yen this fiscal year, approaching the top five globally and the top three in Asia.

Our strength lies in our extensive overseas network. Particularly in Asian countries, we have partner banks (in which we hold at least 20% equity) in four nations: Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Many customers likely think of MUFG first when it comes to global payments.

Expanding B2B2C business in Asia

Yomiuri: How do you view your competitive edge in Asia?

Matsumoto: MUFG places its highest priority on Asia. We combine MUFG's global capabilities with those of our partner banks. While B2B transactions dominate in other overseas markets, in these four countries we can engage in B2C transactions, namely between banks and individuals and between businesses and individuals. Japanese companies entering Asia were primarily manufacturers, but recently, B2C businesses have increased significantly. Retailers and restaurants are utilizing payment functions like QR code payments offered by our partner banks.

In Asia, banks often handle QR code payments. This allows us to strengthen a new "B2B2C" model that neither other Japanese megabanks nor foreign banks possess.

Starting in March 2026, MUFG plans to launch an initiative enabling payments at each partner bank through a single remittance platform, expanding B2B2C payments further. Previously, large remittances were routed through major banks, while smaller ones went to smaller banks. The new initiative will eliminate that hassle.

'Dawn of trade digitization'

Yomiuri: How are you approaching digital payments?

Matsumoto: In 2020, NTT Data Group Corp. spearheaded the establishment of TradeWaltz Inc., a company offering services to digitize trade operations, with MUFG participating from the initial stages. This year is expected to be the "dawn of trade digitization." The turning point will be how effectively the banks and trading companies that invested in TradeWaltz can achieve paperless operations. By utilizing TradeWaltz's ecosystem, companies can reduce costs, increase speed and achieve significant efficiency gains.

Yomiuri: How do you envision future business development?

Matsumoto: Rather than chasing global rankings, we aim to become Asia's number one settlement bank. In Asia, we've built unique strengths by partnering with partner banks. We must further enhance the UI and UX (user interface and user experience) to make it more convenient for customers. We also want to create new business in emerging markets like India and Africa, the so-called Global South.

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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.

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February 05, 2026 22:42 ET (03:42 GMT)

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