July 1, 2011

  • GMO Payment Gateway

July 1, 2011
Press Release
                                     GMO Payment Gateway, Inc.

GMO Payment Gatewayto Introduce F-commerce/Social Commerce Support Solutions with Acquisition of Social Commerce Technology, Inc.
 

Tokyo – July 1, 2011 – GMO Internet Group member and non-face-to-face credit card payment processing company, GMO Payment Gateway announces it has acquired all shares in Social Commerce Technology, Inc. from Sakuragaoka Seisakusho. The F-commerce/social commerce solution provider and research company joins the group today.
*1 F-commerce: Ecommerce on Facebook®
 
Background
Social commerce leverages users’ social network connections and activity to market ecommerce businesses. In the US more and more online stores from small-scale ecommerce businesses through to major brands are taking advantage of social commerce/ f-commerce.
In Japan too, Facebook now has over 3.7 million users (facebakers.com 6/2011), and with new social networking platforms opening, social commerce is expected to play an increasingly important role in boosting revenue for online businesses.
Recognizing the significance going forward of social commerce as a form of ecommerce marketing, GMO PG has acquired social commerce solution provider and research company SCT in order to offer social commerce features as a value add along with payment processing services already provided to 30,000 merchants by GMO PG and subsidiary, Epsilon, Inc. The GMO PG group will immediately begin offering f-commerce and social commerce solutions, with the objective of helping merchants to grow revenue.
 
About Social Commerce Technology
The entire SCT team including Facebook Division manager, Yuki Minui (a 2nd year student at Keio University) was born in the nineties. As a group of digital natives with an innate understanding of social networking tools the company is uniquely positioned to research and develop new methods for ecommerce businesses to take advantage of SNS.  
 
Social Commerce Technology, Inc.
 
Company Name
Social Commerce Technology, Inc. http://www.facebook.com/sctjapan
Location
Shibuya HUMAX Building, 1-14-6 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo JAPAN
CEO
Ryo Muramatsu (appointed July 1, 2011)
Business Description
Research and provision of f-commerce and social commerce support solutions to ecommerce businesses.
Capital
JPY1.2 million
 

Media Inquiries
GMO Payment Gateway, Inc.
GMO Internet, Inc.
 
 

GMO Internet Group
GMO Internet Group is a leading force in the Internet industry offering one of the most comprehensive ranges of Internet services worldwide. The group is the top provider of domain registration, web hosting, ecommerce, and payment processing solutions in Japan and operates a host of other Internet services including global online security services, search engine marketing and online securities trading. At the center of the group is GMO Internet, Inc. (TSE: 9449) headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. 
 
 
GMO Payment Gateway Inc.
Company Name
GMO Payment Gateway, Inc. http://www.gmo-pg.com/
(TSE First Section Code: 3769)
Location
Shibuya HUMAX Building, 1-14-6 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo JAPAN
CEO
Issei Ainoura
Business Description
- Credit card payment processing and related services
Capital
JPY658 million
 
GMO Internet Inc.
Company Name
GMO Internet, Inc. http://www.gmo.jp/en 
(TSE First Section Code: 9449)
Location
Cerulean Tower, 26-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
CEO
Masatoshi Kumagai
Business Description
- Web Infrastructure & Ecommerce
- Internet Media
- Internet Securities
- Social Media & Smartphone Platform
Capital
JPY 2 billion
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