OREANDA-NEWS. January 13, 2016. Rakuten, Inc. and Rakuten Card Co., Ltd. announced a new record membership level of more than 12 million Rakuten Card members as of end November 2015.

Rakuten Card began issuing credit cards in July 2005 and has grown rapidly with competitive terms such as no annual fees, a high rate of rewards in Rakuten Super Points, and the ability to use those points on services across the Rakuten Group. The value of shopping transactions on Rakuten Cards also reached a record level for a single month in the month of December 2015 with 400 billion yen.

In addition, the gross transaction value recorded by all services operated by the Rakuten Group across Japan and overseas markets*1 surpassed 910 billion yen in the month of December 2015 (based on preliminary estimates). While seasonal factors also play a role in this high record, the December result can be said to indicate that the annualized gross transaction value recorded by the Rakuten Group represents 10 trillion yen. The strong growth of the Rakuten Card membership base at the heart of Rakuten’s FinTech business is a key factor in the achievement of this record*2.

The Rakuten Group will continue to build the Rakuten Ecosystem across the three core pillars of FinTech, E-Commerce and Digital Content, maximizing the potential of the increasing popularity of smartphones and Big Data analysis..

*1 Includes domestic e-Commerce, overseas e-Commerce, credit card shopping transaction value, Rakuten Edy, Rakuten Point Card, Rakuten Marketing, and Digital Contents.
*2 Includes Rakuten Card, Rakuten Securities, Rakuten Life, Rakuten Edy, Rakuten Investment Management, and Insurance Agency businesses.