Habitto, a Tokyo-based startup looking to take on Japan's giant banks, has opend its first svaings account to customers, offering a market-beating 0.3% interest on the first one million yen deposited.
The business has registered as a financial services intermediary for both banking and securities intermediation and built a team of 17 employees including three financial advisors.
At the heart of its offerings lies the Habitto Account, a mobile-only savings account that that comes with a Visa Debit card for easy access to deposited funds. The 0.3% return on deposits easily bests the typical 0.001% rate offered by more established bank.
Users also gain access to free financial advisory services for personalised money plans, conducted via in-app chat and video call services.
Habitto previously raised US$3.9 million in a pre-A financing round back in February 2023, which was co-led by Saison Capital and Cherubic Ventures. This follows a US$3.4 million seed round led by Saison Capital in September 2021. This brings the total raised by the company to US$7.3 million.
Other prominent investors in the company include Anthemis Group, Apis Partners, DG Daiwa Ventures, GMO Ventures, Kyokuto Securities, Epic Angels and angel investors from the finance
industry across the globe.