Rakuten International Commercial Bank (RICB) announced that it has officially launched operations making it the first digital bank in Taiwan.

Established in May 2020, Rakuten Bank holds 50% of ownership while IBF Holdings owns 49% and the remaining 1% is held by Rakuten Card.

Following in the footsteps of its Asian counterparts, RICB was among the three entities who were granted banking licenses by Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).

The other two licensees were Japanese app operator LINE Group’s LINE Financial Taiwan and Taiwan telecom operator Chungwa Telecom’s Next Commercial Bank. Both have yet to commence operations so far.

The FSC had previously stated that it will work closely with the central bank and Central Deposit Insurance Corporation to “strengthen supervision of various aspects of the operational risk management framework of internet-only banks”.