KDDI pledged to place the smartphone at the forefront of financial services, as it announced the formation of a holding company to house its mobile wallet, asset management, loans, insurance and other related brands.

Five of its divisions will be brought under the au Financial Holdings banner from the start of April and be rebranded to reflect the core company during KDDI’s 2019 financial year.

Brands set to be incorporated into the new company are: Jibun Bank; KDDI Financial Service; WebMoney; KDDI Asset Management; and KDDI Reinsurance.

As part of a wider revamp of its financial services interests, which included the acquisition of a stake in online brokerage kabu.com Securities, the company announced the launch of its “smart money concept”, which it said places the smartphone as the entry point to a range of financial services.

Once integration is complete, it will provide access to all financial services through its au Wallet application.

In a statement on the new strategy, KDDI said: “Going forward, centering on au Wallet, KDDI plans to provide one-stop services to support customers’ activities pertaining to money, including saving, paying, increasing, borrowing or preparing for the future”.

KDDI also announced it was set to add a fund dedicated to making investments in the financial technology sector into its existing VC arm.