Nudge, which issues credit cards in partnership with celebrities, characters and others, announced on 1 July that it had raised roughly ¥1.48bn ($9m), primarily through asset and debt financing.
The company was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Tokyo.
Credit cards that support Japan’s fan economy
Credit cards bearing the designs of specific celebrities or sports clubs are nothing new. What sets Nudge’s cards apart from conventional partner cards is that they can be issued from a single unit. Partners are, in principle, free to design the card’s artwork themselves, and receive a share of the amount members spend on the card.
A relatively new term in Japan in recent years is oshikatsu. It refers to a person or thing one likes enough to recommend to others, and, by extension, to the activity of actively supporting them. Owning a Nudge card likewise connects fans to their oshi — the celebrities or characters the card is affiliated with — and Nudge itself pitches this use case to corporate partners.
Nudge’s founder and representative director, Takashi Okita, co-founded VeriTrans (now DG Financial Technology) while a student at Hitotsubashi University; the company listed on the Nippon New Market – Hercules in 2004. In 2012, he also co-founded econtext ASIA, which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange the following year. Both DG Financial Technology and econtext ASIA are now wholly owned subsidiaries of Digital Garage.
Asset and debt financing to limit dilution
In the July round, Morgan Stanley provided asset-based financing and Resona Bank provided a loan. The round also included an equity component, with Okita himself making an additional investment.
Nudge explained that the emphasis on asset and debt financing reflects its aim “to improve capital efficiency while limiting dilution for existing shareholders”, and that securing flexible, robust funding tools is “particularly important for fintech start-ups operating payment infrastructure, given the rapid growth in transaction volumes.”
The funds will be used for “working capital to support growth in transaction volumes on the Nudge card, and system development and marketing investment to expand the service’s functionality.”
Okita commented:
“By securing a range of funding tools — including debt financing and asset financing — we have been able to build a robust financial foundation to support our rapid growth while limiting equity dilution. As founder, I have also made an additional investment myself, to demonstrate my strong commitment to Nudge’s growth.
Going forward, the whole team will continue working together to accelerate the business, in pursuit of our mission to ‘create the financial experience of the future, one action at a time.’”
