Chat App Line to Enter Insurance

Japanese messaging service Line announced it has established a new company called Line Financial Corporation, as a follow-up to Line Pay, its mobile money transfer and payment service available on the Line messaging app. The Tokyo-based company reaches 40 million registered users via Line Pay. “Going forward, Line will use this new company as a base as it proceeds with preparations to provide a variety of financial services, including a place to exchange and transact virtual currencies, loans, and insurance – all from the Line app – and will continue to grow its financial business.”

Wait. there’s more. The company also reported that it has entered into a strategic alliance with SoftBank, in which SoftBank will acquire 51% of Line Mobile MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) to promote the business. The mobile service was launched in September 2016 and allows users to use as much data as they want, without counting toward their data limit, for major social networks such as Line, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as the ‘Line Music‘ music service. It is unique in introducing plans that are easy to understand and match the behavior and needs of individual users.

Bottom Line: same SoftBank that led Lemonade’s Series C round ($120M) late last year. Lemonade, big in Japan?