Seiko Solutions and NETSTARS Launch Partnership, Aiming for Digital Transformation of BtoB Settlement

April 11, 2024
Seiko Solutions, Inc.
NETSTARS Co., Ltd.

Seiko Solutions and NETSTARS Launch Partnership,
Aiming for Digital Transformation of BtoB Settlement

Seiko Solutions, Inc. (Headquarters: Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture; President: Jun Sekine; hereinafter, “Seiko Solutions”) and NETSTARS Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Tsuyoshi Ri; hereinafter, “NETSTARS”) are launching a partnership to provide a digital transformation (DX) service for business-to-business (BtoB) settlement. Through this partnership, Seiko Solutions and NETSTARS will promote transition toward digital BtoB payments, leading to the realization of further enhanced productivity for businesses. Going forward, both companies will continue with testing and demonstration of the service, with the aim of commencing service provision during 2024.

Background of Partnership:
Working styles have undergone a major transformation, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, with the revision of the Electronic Books Maintenance Act and the introduction of the Invoice System in Japan, many companies are proceeding with digital transformation (DX) of BtoB transactions. Meanwhile, as an outcome of these legal changes, it has become necessary to consider the preservation and processing of data during the task of settlement, in addition to conventional document mailing and payment transfer paperwork, resulting in a tendency toward increased workload.
With this partnership, the knowledge and services possessed by Seiko Solutions and NETSTARS will be combined, and through the creation and provision of a new service, the further digital transformation of BtoB settlement process will be achieved.

Outline of Partnership:
The partnership between Seiko Solutions and NETSTARS will proceed as shown below.

By combining NETSTARS’ payment platform with Seiko Solutions’ functions and knowhow related to sending electronic invoices, this partnership aims to achieve digital transformation (DX) of the settlement process. Although bank transfers remain the mainstream method for BtoB settlement within Japan, there is significant scope for improvement of business billing and payment operations, and cashless or digital transformation (DX) can be said to be of major importance. In particular, for companies that handle a large volume of low-amount transactions or those that have many transactions with small and medium-sized enterprises, the risk of uncollected receivables is increased, and the human cost of credit control and billing and payment management is inflating. In order to resolve these issues, our partnership will provide a new service for implementing credit card payments in BtoB transactions. With this service, the supplier can anticipate a reduction in delayed payments and risk of outstanding sales accounts, as well as eliminating the task of reconciliation of received payments, and the buyer can anticipate labor-saving and improved efficiency through the digitization of invoicing and payment processes. By utilizing our respective strengths—Seiko Solutions’ long-standing provision of electronic invoice-sending services based on reliable time infrastructure, and NETSTARS’ construction of a platform that has expanded cashless payment solutions within Japan—we will proceed with this partnership with the goal of providing new solutions.

Upcoming Plans
We will start POC (Proof of Concept) from April 2024, aiming to commence provision of the service around Summer 2024.

About NETSTARS:
NETSTARS continues to expand our multi-cashless payment solution “StarPay”, which connects payment brands to businesses. We also apply this mechanism to our service “StarPay-Biz”, launched in 2023, which facilitates the use of credit card payments in BtoB transactions. We promote digital transformation of business operations on the basis of payment services.
Corporate Site: https://www.netstars.co.jp/

About Seiko Solutions:
Seiko Solutions is expanding a range of services for guaranteeing the reliability of distributed electronic data, including its electronic invoice-sending service, under the name “Seiko Trust”. Going forward, the company aims to enrich its service lineup in order to adapt to changes in the social climate and customer needs, such as Japan’s transition away from using personal seals to stamp documents and the trend toward remote working, and will proactively support the continuous growth of businesses.
Seiko Trust: https://www.seikotrust.jp/

*Seiko Trust is a registered trademark of the Seiko Group.
*Other product names, etc., mentioned in this press release are registered trademarks, or trademarks, of each respective company.