Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (President & Group CEO: Tatsufumi Sakai), Blue Lab, Co., Ltd. (President, CEO, & Representative Director: Daisuke Yamada), Information Services International–Dentsu, Ltd. (President and CEO: Setsuo Kamai; ISID), and Fujitsu Limited (President: Tatsuya Tanaka) will conduct a trial of IoT settlement for smart stadiums1, aimed at leveraging ancillary customer data from settlement transactions and using dynamic pricing systems2.
Overview of trial
Date:
May 20, 2018
Venue:
Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki
Event:
X–League Pearl Bowl 2018 (American football) Japanese company team championship: Fujitsu Frontiers vs. OBIC Seagulls
Target users:
Approx. 100 pre-recruited participants, including employees from Mizuho Bank, ISID, and Fujitsu
In recent years Mizuho has sought out partnerships with companies possessing cutting–edge IT to explore business applications of this technology. Our Mizuho Creation Studio3, a laboratory facility set up in October 2016 within Finolab4, aims to facilitate cross–industry open innovation. Since January 2017, we have also been pursuing research into and development of an IoT payments platform5.
Our upcoming trial will explore the use of ancillary customer data gleaned from an IoT payments platform developed in partnership with Blue Lab.
For this trial, Mizuho and Blue Lab have leveraged ISID's experience with financial institution–focused systems to build an IoT payments platform prototype with an accompanying application programming interface (API)6 to help facilitate linkage with external systems. A test app based on the platform (with API) will allow customers to make payments to stadium shops from registered bank accounts directly from their phones. It will also utilize identity verification technology7 from Fujitsu and seating management system know–how from Motion Picture Co., Ltd.8 to allow ticketless stadium entry.
As a result, trial participants will be able to enter the stadium without tickets, order items from stadium shops without leaving their seats, and make payments in advance.
The trial will explore using participants' payment data to provide targeted ticket and purchase information that the users might find relevant or useful, and help provide evaluatory data information on potential issues in the area of dynamic pricing.
Mizuho, Blue Lab, ISID, and Fujitsu are enthusiastic about leveraging this trial to help develop new services utilizing cutting–edge technology and offer customers better and more convenient financial solutions.
- 1Smart stadiums aim to leverage cutting–edge technology to bring stadiums and spectators closer together to create an enhanced spectator experience. Enhancements include allowing customers to order food from their seats, cashless payment, and videos sent to spectator phones.
- 2Dynamic pricing allows for season– and time–based and other forms of price adjustment in reaction to real–time developments in demand conditions.
- 3Mizuho Creation Studio is a facility set up within Finolab to accelerate open innovation aimed at developing new FinTech services.
- 4The FinTech Center of Tokyo. Japan's first center for FinTech, jointly operated by Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., Dentsu Inc., and ISID from February 2016.
- 5For more information, please refer to the following press release, published January 25, 2017:
https://www.mizuho-fg.com/release/20170125release_eng.html - 6An application programming interface is a software programming tool that makes it easier to connect external systems or services with a given proprietary system.
- 7This identity verification technology, in accordance with Fast Identity Online (FIDO) specifications, allows for authentication using fingerprint scans, retinal scans, facial recognition, and other biometrics. Google, Microsoft, and many other companies are members of the FIDO organization.
- 8Motion Picture Co., Ltd.:
CEO: Akio Aya
Address: Senshu Akasaka Bldg. 7F, 3–4–4 Akasaka, Minato–ku, Tokyo
Website: https://motionpicture.jp/