Requirements checked: 22 October 2026 against the official GMO Aozora corporate account guidance. Application flow, portal login, FATCA and sub-card details rechecked on 23 October 2026. Requirements and product features can change, so confirm the linked bank pages before applying.
Introduction
If your company is registered in Japan and meets GMO Aozora’s eligibility requirements, you can apply online for a GMO Aozora corporate account. You must verify your identity, explain your business and submit supporting documents for the bank’s review.
You complete the GMO Aozora corporate account application process through the bank’s online form and Corporate Account Opening Navigation portal. The bank offers an optional AI interview to selected applicants.
SmartStart Japan has helped clients open GMO Aozora corporate accounts, including a successful application in June 2026. Through our corporate bank-account support, we help you prepare your business explanation and supporting documents. We cannot guarantee approval. GMO Aozora makes the final decision.
Scope of this guide: This article covers the GMO Aozora corporate account for an incorporated Japanese entity. A sole-proprietor account follows a different route. See SmartStart’s guide to starting a sole proprietorship for information about that business form.
Is GMO Aozora a suitable option for the company?
| Decision factor | Current official information | What the founder should check |
|---|---|---|
| Application channel | The bank provides an online corporate-account application and Corporate Account Opening Navigation portal | Whether the representative and transaction-responsible person meet the selected identity route |
| Identity method | The bank describes My Number card reading, selfie-video verification and other instructed submission routes | Which identity documents are accepted and whether the representative and transaction-responsible person are the same |
| Business evidence | The bank asks for evidence showing concrete business content and actual activity | Whether the website, contracts, invoices or other objective evidence answers the bank’s questions |
| AI interview | The bank offers the interview to selected applicants, and completing it is optional | Whether the applicant can explain the business consistently and specifically |
| Follow-up | The bank requests corrections or additional documents through the portal when needed | Who will monitor and answer requests before the deadline |
| Approval | Opening the account remains subject to the bank’s review | Do not schedule payroll, invoicing or other steps around a guaranteed approval date |
If you need separate cards for employee purchases or advertising budgets, GMO Aozora offers business debit sub-cards in physical and cardless formats. You can set spending limits for each card per transaction, per day and per month. Card management requires desktop internet banking; it is not available through the smartphone or transaction app.
How to apply for a GMO Aozora corporate account
The process runs in three stages: the online application form, the Corporate Account Opening Navigation portal, and initial settings after approval. Each step below follows GMO Aozora’s official corporate-account flow, checked on 23 October 2026.
Step 1: complete the GMO Aozora corporate account application form
Start on the official GMO Aozora corporate account opening page. Have the company’s registration certificate (登記簿謄本) ready before you open the form. You need it to fill in the company details.
The form also asks how you will verify identity. The official flow has three routes:
- My Number card reading
- Selfie video submission
- Upload or postal submission
Pick a route the transaction-responsible person can complete. The My Number card procedure only appears in the portal if you selected it on the form.
The two-month clock starts when you submit. You have two months from your online application to submit every required document. If you miss the deadline, GMO Aozora withdraws the application and you need to apply again. Prepare your business evidence (Step 6) before you apply.
Step 2: use the Corporate Account Opening Navigation portal
After you submit the initial form, save your 14-character alphanumeric application reference from the completion screen or confirmation email. GMO Aozora then directs you to the Corporate Account Opening Navigation portal. For direct portal access, the bank’s login FAQ lists your application reference, the transaction-responsible person’s date of birth and your registered phone number. The email link can prefill some details. Follow the first-login instructions and authentication code in the email.
Follow the procedures in the order shown in the portal. For My Number and selfie-video applications, complete identity verification, then declare your business details. The optional AI interview comes next if offered, followed by supporting documents. Once all required procedures are complete, the status shows that the review is in progress. For postal submissions, this happens when the bank receives your documents.
Step 3: complete identity verification
Use the identity method shown for your application. The My Number card route needs two things: the transaction-responsible person holds a My Number card, and they know the card’s signature certificate password. That is the 6 to 16 character alphanumeric password set when the card was issued.
Follow the eligibility and document requirements for the identity route selected in your application. The documents you need depend on whether your representative and the transaction-responsible person are the same person.
Step 4: declare the business details
In the business-content declaration screen, enter the representative’s background and what the company sells. Follow the entry examples in GMO Aozora’s application checklist.
Be specific about the business activity, customers and operating model. Everything you declare here has to match your website, contracts and business plan, because the Step 6 documents need to prove it.
Step 5: complete the AI interview if it appears
GMO Aozora introduced an AI interview into its corporate-account review on 11 May 2026, after testing it from September 2025. It takes about 10 minutes and needs no booking. The AI generates questions for your company in real time, and you answer verbally.
GMO Aozora decides who gets the interview based on the declared details and notifies those applicants. Completing it is optional.
Prepare to explain what you sell, who your customers are, how you earn revenue, why the representative is qualified and how expected transactions match the business plan. Keep every answer consistent with your website, contracts, application form and supporting evidence.
Step 6: submit the requested evidence
The portal shows which supporting documents your company needs. In addition to identity verification in Step 3, the main document categories are:
- Business-content documents: at least one, up to ten
- Power of attorney for the transaction-responsible person, with supporting documents. Required only when the representative and the transaction-responsible person are different people
- Supplementary address documents: required when the registered address has no building name or room number, for example in a large office building or commercial complex. Submit a tax, social insurance or utility receipt issued within the last three months
- FATCA confirmation form: required for US taxpayers (see below)
- Notification for persons conducting specified transactions: required when the company has tax residency outside Japan and the US, or when the company is a “specified corporation” whose beneficial owner has tax obligations outside Japan and the US
FATCA requirements for US taxpayers and US-linked companies
If the company or its beneficial owner has US tax obligations, you must submit GMO Aozora’s FATCA confirmation form. The same applies if the declared business is a financial institution. GMO Aozora treats the following as US persons:
- Individuals: US citizens, green card holders and US residents
- Companies: companies incorporated in the US, financial institutions that do not participate in FATCA, and companies that mainly run investment businesses with US major shareholders
This covers American founders who own the Japanese company, and Japanese companies set up under a US parent where a US person is the beneficial owner. Check the ownership chain against these criteria before you apply.
The FATCA process works like this. Open the link in the bank’s additional-procedures email and enter your country of tax residence and taxpayer identification number. The system then generates the FATCA confirmation form. Download it, print it, sign it and upload it through the document submission form. With your consent, GMO Aozora reports the account information to the US tax authorities.
Business-content documents
GMO Aozora’s business-document guidance uses these documents to confirm three things: the registered company name and address, the concrete content of the business or products (price, purchase method and service flow), and that business activity is actually taking place.
The bank ranks the documents that support a smooth review. Submit two or three, starting from the top:
- Licences or permits issued by government agencies
- Complete sets of signed contracts
- The company website
- Invoices, purchase orders or delivery notes issued by other companies
- Your own invoices or delivery notes, with bank statements showing the related payments
- Company brochures, pamphlets or flyers
- Proposals to other companies or product plans
- Documents that objectively show sales, purchases or activity
- A business plan, if you cannot prepare the documents above
There are three types of documents that will not be accepted as business evidence:
- Documents not directly tied to sales, such as the registration certificate, articles of incorporation and incorporation filings
- Documents created or sealed more than six months before the bank’s check
- Documents written in a language other than Japanese
If your contracts and invoices are in English, prepare Japanese-language evidence before you apply. If your company has not started trading, follow the bank’s separate guidance for pre-launch businesses.
For postal submission, enclose the checklist printed from the application completion screen and use the bank’s prepaid mailing label.
Step 7: respond during the bank’s review
Watch the portal during the review. When the bank has questions or finds missing items, a bank notice appears and the required procedures reopen. Respond quickly with consistent, accurate information.
In June 2026, one client we supported received approval two days after completing the AI interview. This is a past client result. Your review can take longer, and completing the interview does not guarantee approval.
Two deadlines apply. Submit all documents within two months of the online application, and respond promptly to any deficiency notice. Miss either and GMO Aozora withdraws the application. Errors in the application or documents also delay the account.
Step 8: complete initial settings if approved
Once the bank approves the GMO Aozora corporate account application, the portal shows how to receive your mail and complete initial settings. The bank sends documents, and a card if you requested one, by registered mail that cannot be forwarded (転送不要の簡易書留).
- Same representative and transaction-responsible person: a letter with the login ID goes to the corporate address, and the first-login details appear in the portal
- Different people: a letter with the login ID goes to the corporate address, and a postcard with the login password goes to the transaction-responsible person’s address
Arrange to receive the bank’s mail, including at a virtual-office address. Uncollected mail can lead to account restrictions, closure or withdrawal of the application.
Is GMO Aozora the right bank for the company?
Before choosing a GMO Aozora corporate account, check that its transaction and currency services meet your needs and that you can complete the required identity checks.
Before applying, make sure that the company’s ownership, business activity, source of funds and expected transactions can be explained consistently. For general preparation problems, read SmartStart’s corporate bank-account rejection and readiness guide. For broader bank selection, read Scaling Your Company’s guide to corporate banking in Japan.
Need help preparing? Use the bank-account readiness checker or get SmartStart’s corporate bank-account support.
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