Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group partners with OpenAI to create Japan's first AI-native digital bank.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group announced on November 12 that it has reached a strategic cooperation agreement with American company OpenAI. They will integrate ChatGPT into the digital banking platform to be launched in the second half of the 2026 fiscal year, aiming to enhance operational efficiency and customer experience. This makes Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group the first company in Japan to officially announce the integration of generative AI as a standard feature in its official app. MUFG also plans to be the first Japanese company to connect with the "Apps in ChatGPT" feature launched by OpenAI in October. Users will be able to access MUFG Group's applications directly through ChatGPT, providing integrated services for household financial management and asset consultation. Starting from January 2026, MUFG will gradually introduce ChatGPT Enterprise Edition, enabling about 35,000 employees in its banks to fully utilize AI in their daily work to enhance document writing, research analysis, and customer service efficiency. The group also plans to increase the number of AI professionals from 135 in the 2024 fiscal year to over 350 in the 2026 fiscal year. Tadashi Yamamoto, Executive Officer of MUFG, stated, "We hope to create a new customer experience in retail finance with OpenAI and eventually develop it into Japan's first AI-native digital bank." The competition in the financial industry for AI technology is intensifying.Mitsui Sumitomo Financial Group has hired a former Microsoft Asia President as an advisor, while Mizuho Financial Group has established a comprehensive AI alliance with SoftBank. Nagasaki Tadao, the representative of OpenAI in Japan, expressed the hope of showcasing the future of maximizing human potential with AI from Japan to the world. MUFG has been conducting pilot cooperation with OpenAI on generative AI financial applications since October 2024, and the official signing of this agreement marks the entry of the two parties into a full-scale practical application phase.