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Acom Co., Ltd.

ConfidenceLikelyUpdated2026-05-26Review by2026-11-15Sources4Machine-translatedOriginal (JA)

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This entry sits under consumer-finance INDEX. Read it against Jaccs for peer / contrast context and banking index for the broader system / regulatory boundary.

TL;DR

Acom is a major consumer-finance company within MUFG. Founded by Masao Kinoshita in Kobe in 1936 as Maruito Gofuketen and renamed Acom in 1978, it was listed on the TSE First Section in 1996-10. Its businesses center on unsecured personal loans, including AC MasterCard and the Mujinkun automated contract machine, credit guarantees, and overseas operations through Thailand’s Easy Buy PCL. Together with Acom’s MUFG affiliation, Promise within SMFG, and independent Aiful, it is one of Japan’s 3 major consumer-finance companies. Acom’s official history says it strengthened its business and capital alliance with MUFG in 2008-09 and became an MUFG consolidated subsidiary in 2008-12. MUFG’s direct holding was 37.57% as of 2026-03-31.

1. Company overview

Official name: Acom Co., Ltd. Securities code: TSE STANDARD 8572 Founded: 1936 (founded by Masao Kinoshita in Kobe as “Maruito Gofukuten”) Renamed: 1978 (business shift to consumer finance, trade name changed to “Acom”) Headquarters: Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Listing: 1993 over-the-counter registration → listed on the TSE First Section in 1996-10 → moved to TSE STANDARD in the 2022-04 market-segment review • Parent: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (mufg)

Business category / the 3 major consumer-finance companies

Company Affiliation Major shareholder Listing segment
Acom mufg Group ★ MUFG direct holding 37.57% (2026-03-31) TSE STD 8572
Promise (SMBC Consumer Finance) smfg Group 100% ultimately owned within SMFG; directly held by Sumitomo Mitsui Card Unlisted (delisted 2012)
aiful Independent (not megabank-affiliated) Independent capital centered on the founding Fukuda family TSE PRIME 8515

Major group companies

Acom (listed 8572, MUFG consolidated subsidiary)
  ├── Acom main body ── the unsecured personal loan "Acom" brand
  │     ├── AC Master Card ── a card loan with credit-card functionality
  │     └── Mujinkun ── automated contract machines (an iconic industry channel)
  ├── Easy Buy PCL (Thailand, 71% consolidated subsidiary)
  │     ── a top-tier Thai consumer-finance company, mainstay being the "Umay+" motorcycle loan
  ├── I-R Credit Recovery (100% subsidiary)
  │     ── servicer business (debt-collection business)
  ├── Acom Guarantee (100% subsidiary)
  │     ── undertaking credit guarantees for bank card loans
  └── Mitsubishi UFJ Bank card-loan "Bankquic" guarantee ── the core of MUFG cooperation

Capital relationship with MUFG

Acom’s official history states that it strengthened its business and capital alliance with MUFG in 2008-09 and became an MUFG consolidated subsidiary in 2008-12. Its share information states that MUFG’s direct holding was 37.57% as of 2026-03-31. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation’s separate 2.01% row is not combined to infer accounting classification.

2. Business-segment map

Segment Main business Characteristics
Unsecured personal loans Acom / AC Master Card Mainstay — centered on card loans, Web-complete, Mujinkun automated contract machines
Credit-guarantee business Undertaking guarantees for Mitsubishi UFJ Bank “Bankquic” etc. The core of MUFG’s retail strategy, with many regional-bank card-loan guarantees as well
Overseas (Thailand) Easy Buy PCL “Umay+” (71% consolidated subsidiary) A top-tier Thai consumer-finance company, axed on motorcycle loans, an industry-leading model
Debt management / collection (servicer) I-R Credit Recovery Collection business for own debt + third-party debt
Credit cards AC Master Card Self-issued, card-loan-integrated, independent brand

The “Mujinkun” automated contract machine

Said to be the 1993 industry-first introduction, deployed nationwide as an iconic channel of consumer finance. The “Mujinkun” TV commercials were an industry icon of the 2000 年s. Since the overpayment problem, it has trended toward contraction amid the Web shift, but it maintains a certain role as a channel for instant screening and instant card issuance. •

Easy Buy PCL (Thailand’s Easy Buy) ★

An industry-leading model of Thai consumer finance. Developed under the “Umay+” brand axed on motorcycle loans, it is a consolidated subsidiary in which Acom holds a 71% stake. It is linked to the Thai economy, the baht, and regulatory risk, but it leads other companies in ASEAN small-lot personal finance. It is also consistent with MUFG’s ASEAN strategy (mufg Krungsri / Bank Danamon). •

Credit-guarantee business (MUFG cooperation)

Acom Guarantee (100% subsidiary) undertakes the guarantee for the Mitsubishi UFJ Bank card-loan “Bankquic.” With this, Acom secures revenue along the 2 axes of directly operated personal loans and behind-the-scenes bank credit guarantees, while the MUFG side can offer low-interest products on bank card loans with a cap rate of around 14.6%. It also undertakes many card-loan guarantees for regional banks. •

3. History

Date Event
1936 Masao Kinoshita founded “Maruito Gofukuten” in Kobe ★ (kimono retail)
1960s〜 Business shift from installment sales to consumer finance
1978 Trade name changed to “Acom” ★ (full shift to consumer finance)
1980s Nationwide deployment, expansion of the unsecured-loan market
1993 Said to be the industry-first introduction of the “Mujinkun” automated contract machine, over-the-counter registration
1996-04 Thailand’s Easy Buy established (later Umay+, an ASEAN-leading model)
1996-10 Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section ★
2003 Peak of the “4 top consumer lenders” era of Promise, Acom, Takefuji, and Aiful •
2006-01-13 Supreme Court ruling effectively made “gray-zone interest” illegal ★ → surge in overpayment-refund claims •
2006-12 Revised Money Lending Business Act enacted (cap rate cut from 29.2% → 20%, total-volume regulation introduced, enforced 2010-06)
2007〜 The whole industry fell into management distress from overpayment-refund losses
2008-09〜12 Strengthened the business and capital alliance with MUFG and became an MUFG consolidated subsidiary in month 12 (December) ★
2010-06 Revised Money Lending Business Act fully enforced (cap rate 20%, total-volume regulation of 1/3 of annual income)
2010-2015 Overpayment refunds continued; across the industry Takefuji went into corporate reorganization, while Acom continued under the MUFG structure
2014〜 Phase of business resumption / earnings recovery, increasing weight of the bank card-loan guarantee business
2017-2019 Earnings recovery / profitability entrenched, deepened MUFG retail cooperation
2022-04 TSE market-segment review → TSE STANDARD 8572 •
2026-03-31 MUFG direct holding was 37.57%; Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation separately disclosed 2.01%

The overpayment problem and the MUFG TOB (2006-2008) ★

  • Supreme Court ruling (2006-01-13): Largely denied the “deemed repayment” provision of the Money Lending Business Act → amounts exceeding the Interest Rate Restriction Act (cap 15-20%) carry an obligation to refund as unjust enrichment
  • 2006 revised Money Lending Business Act: cut the cap rate from 29.2% → 20%, introduced total-volume regulation (1/3 of annual income)
  • Overpayment refunds: on the order of several trillion yen across the industry; Acom too was pressured by huge provisions
  • 2008-09〜12 strengthened MUFG alliance: the business and capital alliance was strengthened, and Acom became an MUFG consolidated subsidiary in month 12 (December)

Positioning as a MUFG affiliate ★

  • Bank card-loan guarantee: the core of MUFG’s retail strategy via the Bankquic guarantee
  • Overseas: Easy Buy (Thailand) in a complementary relationship with MUFG’s ASEAN strategy (mufg Krungsri)

Competitive structure

Competitor Affiliation Difference from Acom
Promise (SMBCCF) smfg group, 100% ultimately owned Directly held by Sumitomo Mitsui Card; described as 100% ultimately owned within SMFG, integrated with the group, and delisted
aiful Independent Founding-family-centered, Kyoto-originated, outside the megabank affiliations, dependent on its own credit data
Rakuten Card / PayPay Card rakuten-fg / paypay-fg Integrated with e-commerce / payment platforms, leading among younger demographics
Bank card loans (directly operated) All megabanks / regional banks Many relationships of “infrastructure provider rather than enemy” via the Acom guarantee
orico / credit-saison / jaccs Installment-credit affiliated A different individual-installment axis, adjacent to consumer finance

Medium-term strategy (publicly disclosed direction)

  • MUFG retail deepening: the dual engines of Bankquic guarantees + unsecured personal loans
  • AI credit scoring: improving the precision of Web-complete, instant screening
  • Overseas (Thailand’s Easy Buy) expansion: leveraging the leading position in ASEAN small-lot personal finance
  • AC Master Card: expanding usage scenes via card-loan + credit-card integration
  • Debt collection (I-R Credit Recovery): cultivating the collection business for own debt + external debt as a revenue axis

B2C branding

  • Became an industry icon of the 1990-2000 年s with the “Mujinkun” commercials, symbolizing instant screening and instant card issuance
  • The “Acom” brand = consumer finance, with separate brand layers in “AC Master Card” and “Umay+” (Thailand)
  • High-visibility branding centered on green (the corporate color)

5. Regulation / policy

  • Supervisor: Financial Services Agency (FSA)
  • Registration: a registered money lender under the Money Lending Business Act
  • Industry association: a member of the Japan Financial Services Association (JFSA)
  • Key regulations:
    • Money Lending Business Act: cap rate 20% (20% for 10 万円 and below, 18% for 10〜100 万円, 15% for over 100 万円)
    • Total-volume regulation: an individual’s total borrowing is up to 1 /3 of annual income (fully enforced 2010-06 )
    • Installment Sales Act: a comprehensive credit-purchase-intermediation provider for the AC Master Card portion
    • Act on the Protection of Personal Information: handling of credit information
  • Overseas regulation: Thailand Bank of Thailand (BoT) regulation — related to Easy Buy PCL
  • Recent policy points:
    • From 2024: accountability of AI credit / prohibition of discrimination
    • Overpayment-refund claims are on a declining trend but have not fully disappeared
    • The “de facto total-volume-regulation overage” problem of bank card loans (industry self-regulation)
  • mufg — parent company (direct holding of 37.57% as of 2026-03-31)
  • smfg — a competitor among the 3 major consumer-finance companies (Promise has 100% ultimate SMFG ownership and is directly held by Sumitomo Mitsui Card)
  • aiful — a competitor among the 3 major consumer-finance companies (independent, TSE PRIME 8515)
  • jaccs — a major installment-credit company, an adjacent sector
  • orico — a major installment-credit company, an adjacent sector
  • credit-saison — a major installment-credit company, an adjacent sector
  • rakuten-fg — encroachment by Rakuten Card on younger demographics
  • paypay-fg — payment-platform encroachment by PayPay Card
  • sbi-shinsei-bank — competition from Lake ALSA (formerly GE-affiliated, now within SBI Shinsei Bank)

Sources

Additional public references: (https://www.acom.co.jp/corp/about-us/businessoutline/loan/), (https://www.acom.co.jp/corp/about-us/businessoutline/guarantee/), (https://www.acom.co.jp/corp/about-us/businessoutline/foreigncountries/), (https://www.aiful.co.jp/group/ir/pdf/SR202503.pdf), (https://www.smbc-cf.com/corporate/outline.html), and (https://www.fsa.go.jp/policy/kashikin/). FY2025 Acom and Aiful disclosures, FY2025 comparative references, FY2025 public materials, and FY2025 reporting support the dated descriptions; FY2025 figures are read only within their disclosed scope.

[!info] Verification status confidence: likely (public information only). Acom’s official history supports its founding, renaming, listing, and 2008 MUFG consolidated-subsidiary status; Acom’s 48th-term business report and share information supply the 2026-03-31 direct-holding figure. The entry contains no internal or non-public information.

#JapanFG#consumer-finance

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