Digital Garage Feedurn:uuid:8e114ea6-32dc-b00c-5b2f-dc000c25bd13Digital GarageNotice of Change in Major Shareholder2024-03-12T10:45:11+09:00
https://www.garage.co.jp/en/ir/
urn:uuid:6756fac8-3dca-2abe-048e-4848703fe934Digital GarageDigital Garage Launches “DGFT Invoice Card Payment for Kensetsu Site Hayabarai” for Construction Businesses2024-03-06T09:00:39+09:00<p><strong>– Digital Garage, Inc. (DG) launches “DGFT Invoice Card Payment for Kensetsu Site Hayabarai,” a B2B payment service that helps construction business operators manage their cash flows. It is available to registered users of “Kensetsu Site Hayabarai,” a cloud service from MC Data Plus, Inc. (MC Data Plus).</strong></p>
<p><strong>“DGFT Invoice Card Payment for Kensetsu Site Hayabarai”</strong> is a B2B payment service for the construction industry. It is based on <strong>“DGFT Invoice Card Payment<sup>*1</sup>,”</strong> a service launched by DG in 2022. DG is striving to further grow its payment services for the B2B market, which play an important role in the Group Strategy “DG FinTech Shift.”</p>
<p>▽ “DGFT Invoice Card Payment for Kensetsu Site Hayabarai” website (only in Japanese)<br />
<a href="https://lp.dginvoice.jp/kensetsu-site-hayabarai/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://lp.dginvoice.jp/kensetsu-site-hayabarai/</a></p>
<p><strong>■(*1) About “DGFT Invoice Card Payment”</strong></p>
<p>This B2B service extends payment due dates by switching invoice payments from bank transfers to credit card payments. It postpones the due date by up to 60 days when payment by bank transfer invoice is switched to payment by JCB/Visa/Mastercard®/Diners Club cards (excluding prepaid cards issued under the JCB brand). It is available even if the payee does not support card payments and helps small- and medium-sized businesses manage their cash flows, including regular and unexpected funding shortages due to various factors.</p>
<p><strong>■About “Kensetsu Site Hayabarai”</strong></p>
<p>“Kensetsu Site Hayabarai” is offered to current users of the “Kensetsu Site Series” service from MC Data Plus, which helps companies increase work efficiency and implement labor-saving measures at construction sites. With this three-party factoring method, MC Data Plus purchases the invoice (account payable) with the agreement of the construction project operator before the due date, allowing the user to obtain cash before the payment deadline.</p>
<p><strong>■Background to developing this service</strong></p>
<p>There are chronic issues in the construction industry caused by rising material prices, personnel expenses, and other factors that put pressure on profits. Due to the unique characteristics of this industry, there are often long periods of time between the order and when the payment is received after the work is completed. Payees experience cash flow issues because necessary expenses must be paid on a monthly basis, and there are few fundraising methods for small- and medium-sized enterprises in particular.<br />
In addition, these companies must have cash at hand for personnel and capital investment to cope with the “2024 problem”.<sup>*2</sup></p>
<p>Due to these circumstances, DG collaborated with MC Data Plus to launch “DGFT Invoice Card Payment for Kensetsu Site Hayabarai” as a way to provide better convenience and help construction business operators invigorate their businesses, including fundraising.</p>
<p><small>*2: About the “2024 problem”<br />
The revised Labor Standards Act, which came into effect in 2019, puts upper limits on overtime work. Starting from April 2024, these limits will apply to construction businesses, drivers, physicians, and other industries, which will have to make further efforts to increase productivity.</small></p>
<p>Going forward, DG will work to promote DX and increased productivity at construction sites to handle cash flow issues resulting from the construction industry structure. It will also offer high-quality B2B Fintech solutions with strict screening standards to companies in a wider range of industries, with the aim of establishing a convenient, safe, and secure cashless society.</p>
<p><strong>■Company Profiles</strong></p>
<p><strong>Digital Garage, Inc.</strong> <a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://www.garage.co.jp/en/</a></p>
<p>Based on its purpose of “Designing ‘New Context’ for a sustainable society with technology,” Digital Garage operates a payment business that provides one of the largest comprehensive payment platforms in Japan. In addition, DG has a marketing business that provides one-stop solutions in the digital and real world, and a startup investment and development business that reaches out to promising startups and technologies in Japan and overseas.</p>
<p><strong>MC Data Plus, Inc.</strong> <a href="https://www.mcdata.co.jp/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://www.mcdata.co.jp/</a></p>
<p>MC Data Plus’ main offering is Green-Site, a labor safety document production service launched in January 2005. It also offers the “Kensetsu Site Series” of cloud services tailored to the construction industry, including Work-Site, Skillmap-Site, and “cacicar for Kensetsu.”<br />
MC Data Plus is exploring new business models with its partners to solve social issues in the construction industry.<br />
<small>*Kensetsu Site, Green-Site, Work-Site, and cacicar are registered trademarks of MC Data Plus, Inc.</small></p>
<p><small>*Related Release:</small><br />
<small>“<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/12/20231219/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Launches “DGFT Invoice Card Payment for OTSUKA CORPORATION,” for the Construction Industry with OTSUKA CORPORATION</a>” (December 19, 2023)</small><br />
<small>“<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/10/20231031/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Updates “DGFT Invoice Card Payment” for Invoice System Compliance and Better User Convenience</a>” (October 31, 2023)</small><br />
<small>“<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/09/20230928_02/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage and GACCI Launch the B2B Payment Service “DGFT Invoice Card Payment” for the Construction Industry</a>” (September 28, 2023)</small><br />
<small>“<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/05/20230525/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Launches “DGFT Invoice Card Payment for Invoice Issuers,” Using a Fast-Growing Early Payment Collection Scheme for SMBs</a>” (May 25, 2023)</small><br />
<small>“<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/03/20230330/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage and Kakaku.com Decide to Jointly Develop a Fintech Services for the Food Service Industry</a>” (March 30, 2023)</small><br />
<small>“<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2022/12/20221212/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage’s B2B Payment Service Begins Accepting Visa and Mastercard®, Following JCB</a>” (December 12, 2022)</small><br />
<small>“<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2022/11/20221110/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage and JCB Launches B2B Payment Service</a>” (November 10, 2022)</small></p>
<blockquote><p><strong><Reference></strong><br />
Strategy and Role of DGFT Invoice Card Payment for the B2B Payment Market</p>
<p>To drive DX for a wide range of businesses in the context of drastic changes in society and industrial structure, we have a DG group’s strategy, “DG FinTech Shift,” which integrates payments, data, and technology. With this strategy, DG is aiming for higher growth by implementing measures that contribute to expanding our market share, developing new services, improving, and strengthening our profit structure, and building multi-layered revenue streams.<br />
“DGFT Invoice Card Payment” B2B payment service was launched in 2022 as a strategically important initiative to enter the larger B2B payment market, in addition to the B2C payment business where the DG Group has been providing services for the past 25 years.</p>
<p>A survey<sup>*1</sup> showed that approximately 90% of B2B transactions are paid via bank transfers in Japan, with only 6.2% paid by credit card. Invoicing takes a great deal of time, and bank transfer payments pose challenges for billers, including credit screening, bad debts, and payment delays. There are many issues for payers as well, such as cash management and cash flows. The B2B payment market is estimated to be worth approximately 1,400 trillion yen<sup>*2</sup>. Fintech services are required in this sector to seamlessly provide cashless payments, DX, and cash management services that help resolve these issues.</p>
<p>The DG Group provides stable system infrastructure for B2B credit card transactions through “DGFT Invoice Card Payment.” DG aims to provide new payment infrastructure services that will help solve a wide range of B2B issues, such as building an original credit model, expanding its factoring and other services, and seamlessly linking SaaS services for business optimization and payment. To this end, DG will effectively utilize its technologies and partnerships with banks, credit card companies, trading companies, business application providers, and SaaS companies.<br />
Starting with “DGFT Invoice Card Payment business,” the DG Group strives to support DX in the B2B domain by developing financial services and businesses in the DX and Fintech sectors that use credit card and transaction data to improve cash management and business efficiency.</p>
<p>*1 Reference: Business-to-Business Settlement White Paper (2022)<br />
*2 Reference: Survey of corporations (2022)</p></blockquote>
https://www.garage.co.jp
urn:uuid:975aeb64-f7b0-85c8-56f4-6df6a615eaffDigital GarageCrypto Garage Adds Staking Service as part of its Institutional Digital Asset Custody Service Lineup2024-03-01T09:00:41+09:00<p><strong>– <a href="https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Crypto Garage, Inc.</a> (Crypto Garage), a subsidiary of Digital Garage, Inc. that develops blockchain financial services business in the Fintech field, launches Ethereum (ETH) staking service that complements existing institutional digital asset custody service “SETTLENET CUSTODY” <sup>(*1)</sup>. This ETH staking service will allow clients to earn rewards on their ETH holdings while securely stored in the custody.</strong></p>
<p>Staking refers to the mechanism where users deposit their cryptocurrency holdings into a blockchain network to contribute to its operation and in return, receive rewards. By staking ETH, for instance, individuals help secure the network and contribute to the validation of transactions, thus playing a significant role in the success of the ETH blockchain.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.garage.co.jp/documents/pr/en/20240301_en.png" alt="" style="width: 90%;"></p>
<p><strong>■Comments from Masahito Okuma, CEO at Crypto Garage</strong><br />
The current crypto market is in a new growth phase, with new systems and services continuing to arrive rapidly, as well as moves toward the market formation for institutional adoption.<br />
The Digital Garage Group, together with Crypto Garage, aims to accelerate growth through the fusion of the non-linear business growth area of these next-generation technologies and the continuous growth area of its core business centered on payment.</p>
<p>At Crypto Garage, we are committed to providing innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients. The launch of our ETH staking service further demonstrates our dedication to offering comprehensive financial services in the digital asset space. We will continue to accelerate our research and development efforts towards the development of financial services utilizing blockchain and cryptographic technologies.</p>
<p><strong>■Background of this service</strong><br />
Crypto Garage has been providing blockchain-related payment services and associated products to Japanese and overseas professional cryptocurrency trading companies with “SETTLENET” <sup>(*2)</sup>. In June 2021, it completed registration with the Kanto Finance Bureau as a cryptocurrency exchange operator based on the Payment Services Act, with the aim of providing brokerage services for transactions between Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges and overseas cryptocurrency trading companies <sup>(*3)</sup>.</p>
<p>In April 2023, it launched a digital asset custody service “SETTLENET CUSTODY” <sup>(*4)</sup>. In “SETTLENET CUSTODY,” Crypto Garage holds customers’ digital assets in a secure environment. Assets are segregated for each customer and backed by world class, battle-tested and peer-reviewed security.<br />
Through “SETTLENET CUSTODY” service, Crypto Garage has decided to offer staking services as part of its expanded functionality to meet the needs of more clients.</p>
<p><strong>■Future roadmap</strong><br />
With the transition of ETH to PoS <sup>(*5)</sup> in 2022, staking is gaining popularity among investors as a feature for asset management using crypto assets. Crypto Garage plans to expand its staking service to other crypto assets using PoS in order to provide more revenue opportunities to its customers.</p>
<p>For more information about our ETH staking service and other offerings, please <a href="https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/contact/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">contact us here</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><Reference></strong><br />
Strategy and Positioning of the Crypto Garage Business</p>
<p>To drive DX for a wide range of businesses in the context of drastic changes in society and industrial structure, we have a DG group’s strategy, “DG FinTech Shift,” which integrates payments, data, and technology. Under this strategy, DG aims to achieve higher growth by implementing measures that contribute to the following aspects: market share expansion, development of new services, improvement and strengthening of the profit structure, and multi-layering of revenues.</p>
<p>Crypto Garage has been working on the research, development, and commercialization of blockchain financial services in the Fintech domain, starting with the first certification in the regulatory sandbox system (in the blockchain and financial sectors) and expanding to financial services such as trading, payment, and custody of digital assets and including software development and R&D services.</p>
<p>Together with the growing interest in crypto assets among corporate and institutional investors, we were among the first to develop B2B custody business and have created services that meet a wide range of client needs, such as the expanded staking service functionality introduced in this press release.</p>
<p>DG Group and Crypto Garage will continue to aim for discontinuous growth through next-generation technology and contribute to the development of a sustainable society through the provision of more advanced financial services.</p></blockquote>
<p><small>*1: Crypto Garage Launches the Commercial Service of “SETTLENET,” a Settlement Platform for the Crypto Asset OTC Market<br />
<a href="https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/news/20200609/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/news/20200609/</a></small><br />
<small>*2: Crypto Garage Launches SETTLENET Product to Boost Application Development for Blockchain Based Financial Institutions<br />
<a href="https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/news/20190121_01/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/news/20190121_01/</a></small><br />
<small>*3: Crypto Garage Completes Registration as a Crypto Asset Exchange Service Provider<br />
<a href="https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/news/20210629/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/news/20210629/</a></small><br />
<small>*4: Crypto Garage Launches New Custody and OTC Trading Services for Digital Assets<br />
<a href="https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/news/20230403/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/news/20230403/</a></small><br />
<small>*5: Abbreviation for Proof of Stake, a consensus algorithm adopted in cryptocurrency blockchains. Meaning “proof of stake,” this mechanism makes it easier for participants with larger holdings to validate transactions.</small></p>
<p><strong>【About Crypto Garage, Inc.】</strong><a href="https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/</a><br />
Crypto Garage, Inc. (HQ: Tokyo; President and CEO: Masahito Okuma) is a Fintech company developing blockchain financial services that Digital Garage, Inc. and The Tokyo Tanshi Co., Ltd. (HQ: Tokyo; President: Shoji Ushiro) co-founded.</p>
<p><strong>【About Digital Garage, Inc.】</strong><a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://www.garage.co.jp/en/</a><br />
Digital Garage’s corporate purpose is “Designing ‘New Context’ for a sustainable society with technology.” Digital Garage operates a payment business that provides one of the largest comprehensive payment platforms in Japan. In addition, DG has a marketing business that provides one-stop solutions in the digital and real world, and a startup investment and development business that reaches out to promising startups and technologies in Japan and overseas.</p>
https://www.garage.co.jp
urn:uuid:1c66d71d-4ce1-ca62-f3fd-09a08ebe7b04Digital GarageDigital Garage Adds Automatic Information Input Function to “Musubell for Real Estate Agent”2024-02-29T09:00:07+09:00<p><strong>– Digital Garage, Inc. (DG) launches a new function in “<a href="https://www.musubell.com/mediation/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Musubell for Real Estate Agent</a>,” its service for real estate brokerage tasks, that will further optimize the creation of real estate sales contracts and important item descriptions.</p>
<p>– This service is part of “<a href="https://www.musubell.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Musubell</a>,” a DX engagement platform for next-generation real estate transactions that enables the online, centralized management of electronic real estate.</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.garage.co.jp/documents/pr/en/20240229_en_01.png" alt="" style="width: 60%;"></p>
<p><strong>■ New “Musubell for Real Estate Agent” function</strong><br />
“Musubell for Real Estate Agent” is equipped with a new function to optimize further the creation of sales contracts and important item descriptions, utilizing a technology that automatically extracts certificates of registered matters data. This technology was developed by DG Lab, an open innovation-based R&D organization led by the DG Group, and uses a table structure analysis method to extract only the required information from PDF files. Integrating certificates of registered matters with pertinent items in sales contracts and important item descriptions, “Musubell for Real Estate Agent,” allows users to spend less time inputting information, leading to faster work optimization.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.garage.co.jp/documents/pr/en/20240229_en_02.png" alt="" style="width: 100%;"></p>
<p><strong>■ Background</strong><br />
To complete real estate transactions, companies must produce many documents, including sales contracts, important item descriptions, and memorandums. The critical item description is a document in which the seller conveys important information about the building to the buyer before the sales contract is concluded. It plays a vital role in smooth transactions and requires a high level of specialized knowledge and skills, such as property surveys and confirmation, as well as legal compliance. These documents have presented issues in the real estate industry because they can be several dozen pages long and take many hours to produce.<br />
Based on these circumstances, DG spoke closely with companies implementing the “Musubell” series and developed this new function to fulfill their requests.</p>
<p><strong>■ New functions to be developed in the future</strong><br />
Additional functions will be added to “Musubell” to provide even better efficiency for creating important item descriptions. For example, DG is developing a new function connecting “Musubell for Real Estate Agent” important item descriptions with information from surveys made with “<strong><a href="https://www.musubell.com/survey/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Musubell for Property Survey</a></strong>,” a service for real estate transactions. In this way, DG is working to help further optimize real estate transaction-related tasks.</p>
<p>Going forward, DG will strive to achieve further growth throughout the real estate industry via its “Musubell” business, by developing technology-based services to help improve customer service and cut down on tasks that must be completed in real estate transactions.</p>
<p><strong><New functions being developed (future plan)></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.garage.co.jp/documents/pr/en/20240229_en_03.png" alt="" style="width: 100%;"></p>
<p><strong>【About Musubell】</strong><br />
A cloud service specializing in real estate sales and contract support. This service is a brand that DG has been developing since 2020 as a “DX engagement platform for next-generation real estate transactions” that contributes to the efficiency of a wide range of real estate industry operations and safe and secure transactions. </p>
<p>The service lineup has expanded to include “Musubell for the New Condo,” “Musubell for Real Estate Agent,” “Musubell for Property Survey,” and “Musubell for Management,” and continues to strengthen its functions and grow in collaboration with DG Group companies and partners.</p>
<p>The UI design allows for optimal organization of real estate operations by property, unit, and others and enables status management of internal applications and contracts and confirmation and management of the contract documents throughout the company. Thus, it promotes DX in real estate operations, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.</p>
<p>We are also working to promote innovation in the real estate industry through the partner program for “Musubell,” which launched in 2023.</p>
<p>“Musubell for Real Estate Agent” web commercial can be viewed below.<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/ulvNIMszfW0" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ulvNIMszfW0</a></p>
<p class="press-youtube" style="text-align: center;">
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ulvNIMszfW0?si=cUatcWpqyO2WOFQe" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><strong>【About Digital Garage, Inc.】</strong><a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://www.garage.co.jp/en/</a><br />
Digital Garage’s corporate purpose is “Designing ‘New Context’ for a sustainable society with technology.” Digital Garage operates a payment business that provides one of the largest comprehensive payment platforms in Japan. In addition, DG has a marketing business that provides one-stop solutions in the digital and real world, and a startup investment and development business that reaches out to promising startups and technologies in Japan and overseas.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><Reference><br />
Strategy and positioning of our service brand “Musubell”</strong><br />
To drive DX for businesses in the context of drastic changes in society and industrial structure, we have a DG group’s strategy, “DG FinTech Shift,” which integrates payments, data, and technology. Under this strategy, DG aims to achieve higher growth by implementing measures that contribute to the following aspects: market share expansion, development of new services, improvement and strengthening of the profit structure, and multi-layering of revenues.</p>
<p>Recently, the trend of DX has been pushing into the real estate industry, and business digitization is becoming increasingly important. On the other hand, many real estate-related companies need to introduce multiple digital tools, increasing their operational workload.</p>
<p>Against this situation, we have launched “Musubell,” a DX engagement platform for next-generation real estate transactions, as one of our key business initiatives from 2020.<br />
We aim to create a sustainable society by developing new businesses utilizing DX and Fintech technologies, which are the assets of the DG Group, and promoting DX in various industries, including the real estate industry.</p></blockquote>
<p><small>*Related Press Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2024/02/20240201/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Expands Functions of “Musubell,” a DX Engagement Platform for Real Estate Transactions</a>” (February 1, 2024)<br />
*Related Press Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/12/20231212/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Launches Service for Condominium Management Companies in “Musubell,” a DX Engagement Platform for Next-Generation Real Estate Transactions</a>” (December 12, 2023)<br />
*Related Press Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/08/20230803/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Launches Partner Program for “Musubell” to Foster Innovation across the Real Estate Industry</a>” (August 3, 2023)<br />
*Related Press Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/01/20230126/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Develops and Offers “Musubell for Property Survey,” a Next-generation Property Survey Cloud Service</a>” (January 26, 2023)<br />
*Related Press Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2021/09/20210927/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Develops “Musubell for Chukai” to Support DX of Real Estate Brokerage, Following its Service for the New Condo Market</a>” (September 27, 2021)<br />
*Related Press Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2020/07/20200728/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Develops “Musubell” for Centralized Real Estate Contract Management, Integrated with Bengo4.com’s “CloudSign” to Fully Digitalize Contract Documents</a>” (July 28, 2020)</small></p>
https://www.garage.co.jp
urn:uuid:74d71cb3-16db-5f6e-0d66-e2cbf2223728Digital GarageNotice Concerning Revision of Dividend Forecast2024-02-22T12:06:03+09:00
https://www.garage.co.jp/en/ir/
urn:uuid:d8f6830e-1fbb-d97d-15c1-84061ee201ebDigital GarageNotice of Organizational Changes and Corporate Officer Appointments2024-02-22T12:05:01+09:00
https://www.garage.co.jp/en/ir/
urn:uuid:ff0f906a-b34a-799e-14e8-19b66ee00b62Digital GarageDigital Garage Opens “Crypto Cafe & Bar,” a web3 Membership Space, as a Proof-of-Concept Store for the DAO Model2024-02-19T08:30:14+09:00<p><strong>– Digital Garage opens “<a href="https://cryptocafe.bar/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Crypto Cafe & Bar</a>,” a web3-based membership space dedicated to exploring DAO<sup>*</sup> models.</p>
<p>– This initiative is part of a broader effort to test and refine the practical applications of DAOs, while contributing to the development of legal frameworks.</strong></p>
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<p><a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage, Inc</a>. (TSE Prime 4819; Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kaoru Hayashi; DG) is delighted to announce the opening of “Crypto Cafe & Bar,” a web3 based members space located in the Digital Gate Building at 3-5-7 Ebisu Minami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. This new venture marks the beginning of our efforts to demonstrate the DAO model through practical experiments designed to establish the “Crypto Cafe & Bar DAO.”</p>
<p><small>*DAO: Decentralized Autonomous Organization, a new organizational form that utilizes blockchain to promote businesses and projects without a specific owner or manager.</small></p>
<p><strong>■ Concept of the “Crypto Cafe & Bar” and collaboration within and outside the DG Group</strong></p>
<p>The “Crypto Cafe & Bar” is a unique web3 membership community and coworking space. The place is managed by the <a href="https://dalab.xyz/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Architecture Lab</a> (DA Lab), established in 2022 by Joichi Ito, the Senior Managing Executive Officer, and Chief Architect. “Crypto Cafe & Bar” functions as a coworking area during the day and transforms into a bar at night, acting as a central hub for connecting NFT membership holders.</p>
<p>Within the DG Group, <a href="https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Crypto Garage, Inc</a>. (Crypto Garage), which develops blockchain financial services business in the Fintech field, is actively developing financial and web3 services in line with domestic regulations. In collaboration with DG Financial Technology, Inc., another key player in the DG Group specializing in payment, Crypto Garage has launched an innovative NFT membership program. This program facilitates card payments using the crypto asset “MATIC” and legal tender to introduce NFT membership program, leveraging Clubs powered by Dev Protocol from FRAME00, Inc., a renowned blockchain software development company.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.garage.co.jp/documents/pr/en/20240219_03_en.png" alt="" style="width: 85%;"></p>
<p><strong>■ About DAO at “Crypto Cafe & Bar”</strong></p>
<p>With the opening of the “Crypto Cafe & Bar,” we are set to initiate projects to showcase the DAO model and offer a real-world experience by establishing the “Crypto Cafe & Bar DAO.” Our plans include various experiments and initiatives, such as setting up a DAO corporation, developing a governance structure tailored for a DAO organization, and organizing events that leverage web3 tools.</p>
<p>As the first step in this demonstration experiment, we will be offering membership NFTs for the “Crypto Cafe & Bar DAO,” which will be sold by DA Lab. Ownership of these NFTs will provide access to the “Crypto Cafe & Bar” and grant decision-making rights within the “Crypto Cafe & Bar DAO.” Additionally, these NFTs are intended to confer partial ownership of the “Crypto Cafe & Bar” in the future, marking a significant milestone in our innovative approach.</p>
<p><strong>■Crypto Cafe & Bar Details</strong></p>
<table class="th-nowrap">
<tr>
<th>Address</th>
<td>2F Digital Gate Building, 3-5-7 Ebisu-Minami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Business Hours:</th>
<td>Coworking Space:Weekdays, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM<br />
Bar:Tuesday and Friday, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Rates</th>
<td>
<table style="border:none;">
<tr style="border-top:none;">
<td style="padding:0;">Cafe Visitor (Weekdays 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM)</td>
<td style="padding:0;">:19 MATIC / 2,000 yen</td>
</tr>
<tr style="border-top:none;">
<td style="padding:0;">Bar Visitor (Tuesdays and Fridays 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM)</td>
<td style="padding:0;">:19 MATIC / 2,000 yen</td>
</tr>
<tr style="border-top:none;">
<td style="padding:0;">One Day Visitor (Tuesdays and Fridays 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM)</td>
<td style="padding:0;">:29 MATIC / 3,000 yen</td>
</tr>
<tr style="border-top:none;">
<td style="padding:0;">Friend Pass (1-month free pass):</td>
<td style="padding:0;">:448 MATIC / 45,000 yen</td>
</tr>
<tr style="border-top:none;">
<td style="padding:0;">Best Friend Pass (3-month free pass)</td>
<td style="padding:0;">:1,095 MATIC / 110,000 yen</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p style="margin-top: 1vw;line-height: 100%;"><small>*The MATIC amount may vary based on the monthly exchange rate, with the yen as the base currency.</small>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Facilities</th>
<td>Small meeting room, screen, projector, DJ booth, coffee machine, and NFT display.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><strong>■ Comments from Joichi Ito, Chief Architect, Digital Architecture Lab</strong></p>
<p>DAOs are the next evolution of organisational entity, and Japan is currently at the forefront of legal adoption with the DAO law now open for public comment. It is crucial for us to explore, and experience use cases to better understand the opportunities and pitfalls for society, and the Crypto Bar serves as an exemplary venue for both experimentation and practical use cases in this evolving field.</p>
<p><strong>【About Digital Garage, Inc.】</strong><a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://www.garage.co.jp/en/</a></p>
<p>Digital Garage’s corporate purpose is “Designing ‘New Context’ for a sustainable society with technology.” Digital Garage operates a payment business that provides one of the largest comprehensive payment platforms in Japan. In addition, DG has a marketing business that provides one-stop solutions in the digital and real world, and a startup investment and development business that reaches out to promising startups and technologies in Japan and overseas.</p>
https://www.garage.co.jp
urn:uuid:7a536d90-9956-06dd-1b02-9808b9440118Digital GarageSummary of Consolidated Financial Results for the Nine Months Ended December 31, 2023 (Based on IFRS)2024-02-13T14:14:14+09:00
https://www.garage.co.jp/en/ir/
urn:uuid:69fd795a-01ac-a294-265b-0878a5e1763cDigital Garage3Q of FYE March 31, 2024 Financial Report2024-02-08T13:05:25+09:00
https://www.garage.co.jp/en/ir/
urn:uuid:85e003b2-d65d-0230-3b09-6236ccf1ff64Digital Garage3Q of FYE March 31, 2024 Data Sheet2024-02-08T13:04:20+09:00
https://www.garage.co.jp/en/ir/
urn:uuid:733bf02a-c42b-25d3-5327-062b0fd74e48Digital GarageNotice of Policy for Introduction of ESOP Trust to Support Employee Stock Ownership Association2024-02-08T13:02:57+09:00
https://www.garage.co.jp/en/ir/
urn:uuid:640f2074-f058-98e2-b005-d67155e0418dDigital GarageDigital Garage Expands Functions of “Musubell,” a DX Engagement Platform for Real Estate Transactions2024-02-01T09:00:09+09:00<p><strong>– Digital Garage, Inc. (DG) expands following 2 functions of “<a href="https://www.musubell.com/management/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Musubell for Management</a>,” the latest service in the “<a href="https://www.musubell.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Musubell</a>,” which DG has been developing since 2020 as a DX engagement platform for next-generation real estate transactions that contributes to the efficiency of a wide range of real estate industry operations and safe and secure transactions. </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.garage.co.jp/documents/pr/en/20240201_en_01.png" alt="" style="width: 75%;"></p>
<p><strong>■New “Musubell for Management“ function (scheduled from April 2024)</strong><br />
<strong>1. Management function for cooperatives</strong><br />
・Electronic contract signing based on the Act on Advancement of Proper Condominium Management<br />
・Sending monthly revenue and expense reports<br />
・Sharing of other reports</p>
<p><strong>2. Functions for property managers</strong><br />
・Digitalization of daily report<br />
・Online receipt of inspection reports from third-party contractors<br />
・Management of schedules<br />
・Document management for each managed property<br />
・Emergency notification to the manager in the case of a disaster or other emergency</p>
<p>“Musubell for Management” has two standard functions: an online application service for accepting, approving, and sending the “Reports on Important Matters” requested by real estate agencies to management companies, and a credit card payment service for “<a href="https://www.veritrans.co.jp/lp/4g.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">VeriTrans4G</a>,” a multi-payment service from <a href="https://www.dgft.jp/company/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">DG Financial Technology, Inc</a>.</p>
<p><strong>■Background</strong><br />
About 6.36 million households<sup>*</sup> live in approximately 120,000 condominiums administered by property management companies in Japan. As these management companies are handling more and more buildings, prompt DX is necessary for overall cooperative management tasks due to more reporting done by paper documents and telephone, as well as a shortage of property managers.</p>
<p><strong>■Goals of “Musubell for Management”</strong><br />
Through the following new functions, we aim to improve the efficiency of complicated communication between property management companies and various stakeholders (cooperatives, property managers, parties to whom business is outsourced) and provide a one-stop solution for paperless communication and reduction of mailing costs, in addition to contributing to solving the social issue of “shortage of property managers,” which is expected to become more serious.</p>
<p><small>*Reference: “2022 Condominium Management Survey Results,” Condominium Management Companies Association</small></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.garage.co.jp/documents/pr/en/20240201_en_02.png" alt="" style="width: 85%;"></p>
<p><strong>【About Musubell】</strong><br />
A cloud service specializing in real estate sales and contract support. This service is a brand that DG has been developing since 2020 as a “DX engagement platform for next-generation real estate transactions” that contributes to the efficiency of a wide range of real estate industry operations and safe and secure transactions. </p>
<p>The service lineup has expanded to include “Musubell for the New Condo,” “Musubell for Real Estate Agent,” “Musubell for Property Survey,” and “Musubell for Management,” and continues to strengthen its functions and grow in collaboration with DG Group companies and partners.</p>
<p>The UI design allows for optimal organization of real estate operations by property, unit, and others and enables status management of internal applications and contracts and confirmation and management of the contract documents throughout the company. Thus, it promotes DX in real estate operations, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.</p>
<p>We are also working to promote innovation in the real estate industry through the partner program for “Musubell,” which launched in 2023.</p>
<p>“Musubell for Management” web commercial can be viewed below.<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/ce5ROGoPHVo" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ce5ROGoPHVo</a></p>
<p class="press-youtube" style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ce5ROGoPHVo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>【About Digital Garage, Inc.】</strong><a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://www.garage.co.jp/en/</a><br />
Digital Garage’s corporate purpose is “Designing ‘New Context’ for a sustainable society with technology.” Digital Garage operates a payment business that provides one of the largest comprehensive payment platforms in Japan. In addition, DG has a marketing business that provides one-stop solutions in the digital and real world, and a startup investment and development business that reaches out to promising startups and technologies in Japan and overseas.</p>
<blockquote><p>
<strong><Reference></strong><br />
<strong>Strategy and positioning of our service brand “Musubell”</strong><br />
To drive DX for businesses in the context of drastic changes in society and industrial structure, we have a DG group’s strategy, “DG FinTech Shift,” which integrates payments, data, and technology. Under this strategy, DG aims to achieve higher growth by implementing measures that contribute to the following aspects: market share expansion, development of new services, improvement and strengthening of the profit structure, and multi-layering of revenues.</p>
<p>Recently, the trend of DX has been pushing into the real estate industry, and business digitization is becoming increasingly important. On the other hand, many real estate-related companies need to introduce multiple digital tools, increasing their operational workload.</p>
<p>Against this situation, we have launched “Musubell,” a DX engagement platform for next-generation real estate transactions, as one of our key business initiatives from 2020.</p>
<p>We aim to create a sustainable society by developing new businesses utilizing DX and Fintech technologies, which are the assets of the DG Group, and promoting DX in various industries, including the real estate industry.
</p></blockquote>
<p><small>*Related Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/12/20231212/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Launches Service for Condominium Management Companies in “Musubell,” a DX Engagement Platform for Next-Generation Real Estate Transactions</a>” (December 12, 2023)<br />
*Related Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/08/20230803/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Launches Partner Program for “Musubell” to Foster Innovation across the Real Estate Industry</a>” (August 3, 2023)<br />
*Related Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/01/20230126/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Develops and Offers “Musubell for Property Survey,” a Next-generation Property Survey Cloud Service</a>” (January 26, 2023)<br />
*Related Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2021/09/20210927/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Develops “Musubell for Chukai” to Support DX of Real Estate Brokerage, Following its Service for the New Condo Market</a>” (September 27, 2021)<br />
*Related Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2020/07/20200728/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Develops “Musubell” for Centralized Real Estate Contract Management, Integrated with Bengo4.com’s “CloudSign” to Fully Digitalize Contract Documents</a>” (July 28, 2020)<small></p>
https://www.garage.co.jp
urn:uuid:4be27ff6-17c6-e994-a1d3-1b813999d4beDigital GarageDigital Garage Launches “DGFT Invoice Card Payment for CARRY ME,” for Professionals Registered with “CARRY ME”2024-01-22T09:00:27+09:00<p><strong>– DG launches “<a href="https://lp.dginvoice.jp/carryme/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">DGFT Invoice Card Payment for CARRY ME</a>,” a B2B payment service to support the cash flow of self-employed professionals registered with the professionals matching service “CARRY ME,” which is operated by Piece to Peace.</strong></p>
<p>“DGFT Invoice Card Payment for CARRY ME” is a B2B payment service for self-employed professionals based on “DGFT Invoice Card Payment,” a service Digital Garage, Inc. (TSE Prime section: 4819; HQ: Tokyo; Representative Director, President Executive Officer and Group CEO: Kaoru Hayashi; DG) has been offering since 2022. This is one of the initiatives to expand payment services for the B2B market further.</p>
<p>This service extends payment due dates by switching invoice payments from bank transfers to credit card payments. It is mainly used to resolve cash management issues due to seasonal demand and to optimize accounts payable tasks by consolidating payments with credit cards.</p>
<p><span class="reference">Please refer to the reference below.</span></p>
<p><strong>■Background</strong><br />
The number of professionals working as self-employed is increasing even faster, as many companies have lifted restrictions on side business. On the other hand, self-employed also have aspects of workload and income that are difficult to steady, making it easy for them to face cash flow difficulties.</p>
<p>“DGFT Invoice Card Payment” has been available to self-employed since April 2023, and the share has grown to approximately 35%. Given these circumstances, it is expected that their use of the service will continue to increase in the future.</p>
<p>Through this service, DG and Piece to Peace, Inc. (HQ: Tokyo; CEO: Ryo Osawa; Piece to Peace) aim to contribute to self-employed with professional skills by solving cash flow difficulties. Also, by delivering Fintech solutions in the B2B domain that ensure high-quality screening standards for companies that require a prompt and high standard of service, we will not only promote the next-generation Fintech business in the DG Group but also contribute to creating a convenient, safe, and secure cashless society.</p>
<p><strong>【About CARRY ME】</strong><a href="https://carryme.jp/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://carryme.jp/</a><br />
Based on the concept of “professional contracts for the business world,” this service introduces professionals with expertise for core corporate projects under outsourcing contracts. We called Pro-Jinzai which means the human resources of professional. The service has been introduced to more than 2,000 companies, with strengths in digital marketing (ad management, SNS, SEO, e-commerce and others), public relations, business development, corporate sales, recruitment, and other projects that are crucial to business growth.</p>
<p><strong>【About Piece to Peace, Inc.】</strong><a href="https://piecetopeace.co.jp/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://piecetopeace.co.jp/</a><br />
It was founded in 2009 with the philosophy of “Connecting Piece (small power of individuals) to Peace (great power).” Talented people are more attracted to those seeking self-directed careers rather than “permanent” or “lifetime” employment. Amid this transformation, CEO Osawa officially launched “CARRY ME” in 2016, based on his realization that companies were sticking to hiring full-time employees and not utilizing professionals even though the workforce was facing a steep decline.</p>
<p><strong>【About Digital Garage, Inc.】</strong><a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://www.garage.co.jp/en/</a><br />
Digital Garage’s corporate purpose is “Designing ‘New Context’ for a sustainable society with technology.” Digital Garage operates a payment business that provides one of the largest comprehensive payment platforms in Japan. In addition, DG has a marketing business that provides one-stop solutions in the digital and real world, and a startup investment and development business that reaches out to promising startups and technologies in Japan and overseas.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><Reference><br />
Strategy and Positioning of “DGFT Invoice Card Payment” for the B2B Payment Market</strong></p>
<p>To drive DX for a wide range of businesses in the context of drastic changes in society and industrial structure, we have a DG group’s strategy, “DG FinTech Shift,” which integrates payments, data and technology. Under this strategy, DG aims to achieve higher growth by implementing measures that contribute to the following aspects: market share expansion, development of new services, improvement and strengthening of the profit structure, and multi-layering of revenues.</p>
<p>The B2B payment service “DGFT Invoice Card Payment” was launched in 2022 as a strategically important initiative to enter the larger “B2B payment market” in addition to the “B2C payment business” for which the DG Group has been providing services for 25 years.</p>
<p>In Japan, a survey<sup>*1</sup> shows that approximately 90% of B2B transactions are processed through bank transfers, and only 6.2% are settled by credit card. Bank transfer payments pose challenges for billers, such as “credit screening,” “bad debts,” and “payment delays,” which require much time for invoicing operations. The payer side faces many issues, such as “cash management” and “cash flow.” In the B2B payment domain, estimated to be worth approximately 1,400 trillion yen<sup>*2</sup>, Fintech services that seamlessly provide cashless payment, DX, and cash management services are in demand to help solve these issues.</p>
<p>DG Group provides a stable system infrastructure for credit card payments for B2B transactions through its B2B payment service, “DGFT Invoice Card Payment.” By building the model, expanding services such as factoring, expanding the seamless linkage between the SaaS service for business efficiency and payment, and effectively utilizing DG’s technology as well as partnerships with banks, credit card companies, trading companies, business application providers, and SaaS companies, DG aims to provide new payment infrastructure services that will help solve a wide variety of B2B transaction issues.</p>
<p>Starting with the “DGFT Invoice Card Payment” business, the DG Group aims to support the DX of B2B by developing financial services and businesses in the DX and Fintech business areas that contribute to cash management and business efficiency improvement with credit card and transaction data.</p>
<p><small>*1 Reference: Business-to-Business Settlement White Paper (2022)<br />
*2 Reference: Survey of corporations (2022)</small></p></blockquote>
<p><small>* Related Release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2022/11/20221110/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage and JCB Launches B2B Payment Service</a>” (November 10, 2022)<br />
* Related release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2022/12/20221212/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage’s B2B Payment Service Begins Accepting Visa and Mastercard®, Following JCB〜First Service of the Kind in Japan to Enable the Use of Three Major Card Brands. Helps Small and Medium-sized Businesses Manage Cash Flows and Improve Operational Efficiency〜</a>” (December 12, 2022)<br />
* Related release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/03/20230330/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage and Kakaku.com Decide to Jointly Develop a Fintech Services for the Food Service Industry~ Starting with Invoice Card Payment Service for Restaurants ~</a>” (March 30, 2023)<br />
* Related release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/05/20230525/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Launches “DGFT Invoice Card Payment for Invoice Issuers,” Using a Fast-Growing Early Payment Collection Scheme for SMBs~ Enhancing Cash Flow and Business Efficiency with B2B Payment Services ~</a>” (May 25, 2023)<br />
* Related release: “<a href="https://www.garage.co.jp/en/pr/release/2023/10/20231031/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Garage Updates “DGFT Invoice Card Payment” for Invoice System Compliance and Better User Convenience~ Promoting DX and Improving Cashflow for SMBs, Which Can Immediately Start Using the Service and Complete Payments in as Little as 5 Minutes ~</a>” (October 31, 2023)</small></p>
https://www.garage.co.jp
urn:uuid:12db5aa3-e353-b36d-d479-678c9efe90a4Digital GarageNotice of Completion of Payment for Disposal of Treasury Stock through a Third-Party Allocation2024-01-09T11:03:52+09:00
https://www.garage.co.jp/en/ir/
urn:uuid:cf874ca4-150e-cbcc-1e2d-a600fc3a49e4Digital GarageDigital Garage Reinforces Capital and Business Alliance with Resona Group2023-12-22T09:00:07+09:00<p>Digital Garage, Inc. (TSE Prime section: 4819; HQ: Tokyo; Representative Director, President Executive Officer and Group CEO: Kaoru Hayashi; DG) and Resona Holdings, Inc. (TSE Prime section: 8308; HQ: Tokyo; Group CEO, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer: Masahiro Minami; Resona HD) agreed to reinforce the capital and business alliance formed in November 2022. In addition to strengthening their partnership in the payment business and next-generation Fintech business, the two companies will also begin collaboration in the startup investment and open innovation businesses.</p>
<p>In accordance with the reinforcement of the alliance, Resona HD plans to acquire an additional 10% of DG’s shares through a third-party allocation of treasury stock and market purchases of DG stock.</p>
<p>DG and Resona HD formed a capital and business alliance in November 2022 and consistently expanded their collaboration centered on payment business. Combining their business resources though this alliance, DG and Resona HD plan to contribute to building a convenient, safe, and secure cashless society by strengthening and expanding respective market share of their payment business and accelerating next-generation Fintech businesses, which both companies have set as key businesses focus within their Medium-term Plan.</p>
<p style="font-weight:bold; font-size:1.2rem;">■Details of the capital and business alliance reinforcement<br /><span style="font-size:.8rem; line-height: 1.2rem;"> (For more details, please refer to “Appendix: Summary of Transactions Involving the Reinforcement of the Alliance”)</span></p>
<table style="margin-top:.5rem">
<tr>
<th><strong>1.Payment Business:<br />Providing payment services to Resona Group’s 500,000 corporate clients by building a joint sales force centered on Resona Kessai Service.</strong></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<ul style="padding-left: 1rem; font-size: .85rem;">
<li>DG acquires stake in Resona Kessai Service Co., Ltd. (Resona HD’s payment services subsidiary: RKS) and operates RKS as DG’s equity method associate.</li>
<li>Provide DG’s advanced payment services to RKS and seconding and accepting employees to strengthen sales and marketing.</li>
<li>Establish a joint sales team and structure to leverage Resona Group’s 800+ branches and 3,000 corporate business professionals.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><strong>2.Next-generation Fintech Business:<br />Jointly develop next-generation Fintech services to meet diverse customer needs and offer them to customers of both companies.</strong></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<ul style="padding-left: 1rem; font-size: .85rem;">
<li>Provide financial solutions of Resona Group, including RKS, to DG’s merchants.
<li>Jointly develop and provide payment, financial, and DX service solutions to customers of both companies, utilizing technology to meet diverse and high-level customer needs.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><strong>3.Startup Investment and Open Innovation Business:<br />Accelerate growth through joint operation of investment funds and utilize startups’ advanced technologies and business models.</strong></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<ul style="padding-left: 1rem; font-size: .85rem;">
<li>Jointly establish and operate a venture fund with a fund-size 10 billion yen or more and transfer a portion of DG’s operational investment securities to the fund.</li>
<li>Accelerate the growth of companies’ payment and next-generation Fintech businesses by leveraging startups’ cutting-edge technologies and business models.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.garage.co.jp/documents/pr/en/20231222_en_01.png" alt="" style="width: 100%;"></p>
<p><strong>■Use of funds to be raised through the disposal of treasury stock</strong><br />
DG will use the proceed from the disposal of treasury stock for strategic M&A initiatives including partial acquisition of RKS, new business development initiatives on the next-generation Fintech business, and system enhancement initiatives to further enrich its payment system infrastructure. In addition, DG will develop a new business line, “Processing Platform Business,” that will focus on providing DG’s payment system infrastructure to external payment service providers. DG will support the expansion of the Japanese Fintech market by providing a payment system infrastructure that supports various companies to enter the payment business easily and efficiently. </p>
<p>This alliance will further enhance diversification of DG’s finance and DX service offerings, including finance, e-commerce and marketing business leveraging its purchasing data, to address various customer demand. DG will accelerate the diversification of its revenue models and expansion of profit margins in accordance with its group strategy, “DG FinTech Shift,” and aspire to achieve the Medium-term Plan announced in May 2023.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.garage.co.jp/documents/pr/en/20231222_en_02.png" alt="" style="width: 100%;"></p>
<p><strong>■Comments from both companies on the capital and business alliance</strong></p>
<p><strong>Kaoru Hayashi, Representative Director, President Executive Officer and Group CEO of Digital Garage, Inc.</strong><br />
Digital Garage is working with various strategic partners on the “DG FinTech Shift,” a group strategy that integrates payments, data, and technology. With the increasing expectations toward financial institutions to solve local and social issues, including easing the Banking Act, this partnership will provide superb growth opportunities for both companies. By strengthen the partnership with Resona Group, which aims to become “Retail No. 1” bank and poses one of the largest corporate clients, branches, organization, and financial expertise in Japan, we will further accelerate of group strategy, “DG FinTech Shift” and support the creation of next-generation business models in Japan.</p>
<p><strong>Masahiro Minami, Group CEO, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Resona Holdings, Inc.</strong><br />
Resona Group is working to co-create and expand value with strategic partners with the aim of becoming the “Retail No. 1” Solutions Group. We are confident that by combining the strengths of both companies through this alliance enhancement, we will be able to solve diversified and high-level social issues and grow the payment businesses of both companies remarkably. Through our partnership with Digital Garage, which has payment solutions for various needs, a global startup ecosystem, and a First Penguin Spirit that bravely takes on unknown business areas, we will provide retail customers with a new payment experience and contribute more than ever to customers and local communities. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Appendix: Summary of Transactions Involving the Reinforcement of the Alliance</strong></p>
<p><strong>1. Disposal of Treasury Stock through a Third-Party Allocation</strong><br />
Digital Garage, Inc. (the Company) resolved at a meeting of the Board of Directors held on December 22, 2023 to dispose treasury stock through a third-party allocation, as described below, and entered into a total stock subscription agreement with Resona HD, the planned recipient of disposal.</p>
<table class="th-nowrap">
<tr>
<th>(1)Payment date:</th>
<td>January 9 (Tuesday), 2024</p>
<td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>(2)Number of shares for disposal:</th>
<td>Common stock, 2,500,000 shares</p>
<td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>(3)Disposal price:</th>
<td>3,660 yen per share</p>
<td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>(4)Funds to be raised:</th>
<td>9,150,000,000 yen</p>
<td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>(5)Disposal method:</th>
<td>Third-party allocation</p>
<td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>(6)Planned recipient of disposal:</th>
<td>Resona Holdings, Inc.</p>
<td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>(7)Others:</th>
<td>The Disposal of Stock shall be subject to the effectiveness of the securities registration statement under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.</p>
<td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>After acquisition of the Company’s common stock through the Disposal of Stock, Resona HD plans to additionally acquire 2,261,000 of the Company’s common stock (4.77% of voting rights and 4.75% of total number of issued shares after the Disposal of Stock) through market purchases. (However, depending on the market stock price, Resona HD may not purchase up to the maximum limit.) Upon completion of the additional acquisition, Resona HD will become a major shareholder of the Company.</p>
<p><strong>2. Related transactions</strong><br />
The Company and Resona HD have reached a basic agreement to conduct each of the following transactions related to the reinforcement of this alliance after the additional acquisition of the Company’s stock through the disposal of treasury stock through a third-party allocation. </p>
<p>(1) Partial acquisition of shares of Resona Kessai Service Co., Ltd. by the Company<br />
The Company has reached a basic agreement with Resona HD to acquire a partial share of Resona Kessai Service, a subsidiary of Resona HD, strengthening the joint sales structure with Resona Group. In collaboration with Resona Group, the Company will provide its latest payment solutions to Resona Group’s clients, and Resona Group will provide its financial solutions to the Company Group’s clients. The Company’s shares in Resona Kessai Service will be in the range of 15% to 20%. The terms and conditions of the share acquisition, including the number of shares to be transferred and the acquisition price, will be agreed upon through separate discussions between Resona HD and the Company.</p>
<p>【About Resona Kessai Service】</p>
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<th>(1)Name:</th>
<td>Resona Kessai Service Co., Ltd.</p>
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<th>(2)Date founded:</th>
<td>October 25, 1978</p>
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<th>(3)Name of representative:</th>
<td>Masanori Hirokawa</p>
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<th>(4)Head office address:</th>
<td>1-5-25 Kiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo</p>
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<th>(5)Business:</th>
<td>A subsidiary of Resona HD, which operates a payment collection agency, factoring, and payment business, with assets of over 300 billion yen and more than 2,000 partners. The company offers a variety of financial solutions, including factoring and guarantees, in addition to payment collection services that handle 50 million cases annually.</p>
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<p>(2) Transactions related to global investment incubation business<br />
The Company will jointly establish an investment fund with Resona Group with a total investment of 10 billion yen or more. The Company has agreed to allow this joint investment fund to acquire a portion of the operating investment securities held by the Company’s subsidiary DG Ventures, Inc. and jointly manage this fund.</p>
<p>The Company and Resona HD plan to hold an equal share of 50% in the joint investment fund directly or indirectly. The structure of this joint investment fund and its composition and operation details, including the content and consideration for the operational investment securities to be acquired, will be agreed upon through separate discussions between the Company and Resona HD.</p>
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