Sumitomo Mitsui vs. Mitsubishi UFJ! The Secrets to Smartly Maximizing Benefits by Holding Two Cards in the Battle for “Point-Earning” Supremacy with Up to 20% Cash Back

〈Credit cards continue to see service cutbacks, and the downward trend in point redemption rates for mobile payments shows no sign of stopping… While a sense of stagnation hangs over the “point-earning” scene, there is one area where fierce localized battles are being waged: the retail (consumer) sector of the megabanks.  

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, which was quick to enter the battle for dominance in the digital economy, and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank—which is currently restructuring its retail strategy to follow suit—are vying to lock in customers by offering a 20% cashback rate—an exceptionally high rate by today’s standards—at convenience stores, supermarkets, and restaurants.

This localized battle is bound to influence future competition within the digital ecosystem, but it would be a waste to simply sit back and watch. We asked experts not only about the megabanks’ strategies but also for tips on how to “get the best deals” by capitalizing on this battle.〉

It all began with Sumitomo Mitsui Card’s “major overhaul”

Let’s briefly review the background.

It all began in February 2020 with Sumitomo Mitsui Card’s first major overhaul in 30 years. The card’s design—including the card face—was completely revamped, and as part of a promotional campaign, the company offered up to 5% cashback at participating convenience stores and McDonald’s.Although the participating stores were limited, the 5% cashback rate stood out even compared to the smartphone code payment services (so-called “XX Pay”) that were all the rage at the time.

In March ’23, the “V Point Up Program” was launched. If certain conditions are met, the cashback rate can reach up to 18%. Furthermore, in July of the same year, the cashback rate at participating stores was raised from 5% to 7%, and when combined with the V Point Up Program, this resulted in a maximum cashback rate of 20%.

In April 2024, “T Points” were integrated, and awareness of V Points skyrocketed. Since then, the list of eligible stores offering 7% cashback has expanded to include convenience stores, fast-food chains, family restaurants, and café chains, significantly improving convenience.

Mitsubishi UFJ Card Suddenly Gets “Motivated”

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi UFJ Card underwent a rebranding in July 2021, changing its name from MUFG Card. Although it initially showed some enthusiasm through sign-up campaigns, it remained lackluster without any major highlights—until July 2022, when it launched a service offering up to 5.5% cashback on purchases at participating convenience stores.

Of course, this was clearly a response to Sumitomo Mitsui Card’s 5% cashback offer at the time, with the 0.5% top-up intended to highlight its competitive edge. However, this initiative went largely unnoticed.This was partly because the offer was limited to just two convenience store chains, and partly because, as mentioned earlier, in response to this initiative, Sumitomo Mitsui Card launched its V-Point Up Program and introduced a 7% cashback rate—exceeding the 5.5%.

Since then, although Mitsubishi UFJ Card has expanded the list of participating stores, the program has rarely been the subject of discussion.

However, in June ’25, it made a sudden comeback. It raised the standard cashback rate at participating stores from 5.5% to 7% and updated its points bonus program to offer a maximum cashback rate of 20%. At this point, on the surface, it had virtually caught up with Mitsui Sumitomo Card.

But the story doesn’t end there. In February ’26, Sumitomo Mitsui Card revised its points program, offering an 8% cashback rate for contactless payments via “Olive Flexible Pay” and an 11% rate specifically at 7-Eleven stores. With this move, it appeared to have regained the upper hand over Mitsubishi UFJ Card.It is highly likely that this series of back-and-forth moves will continue.

Sumitomo Mitsui in Dining, UFJ in Supermarkets

For reference, let’s list the participating stores for each card provider. The only overlaps are 7-Eleven and Lawson. Sumitomo Mitsui Card excels in fast food and restaurants, while Mitsubishi UFJ Card has a strong presence in supermarkets. However, since Sumitomo Mitsui Card covers more nationwide chains, it has the edge in terms of convenience.

“Requirements” for the Maximum 20% Cash Back

While Sumitomo Mitsui Card offers a maximum cashback rate of 20%, this rate is only available when paying with “Olive Flexible Pay.” Olive Flexible Pay is a card issued upon registering for an “Olive Account”; it’s a cash card that incorporates functions such as a credit card or debit card.

The system works as follows: Set this card to “Credit Mode” in the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation app, register it with Apple Pay or Google Pay on your smartphone, and make contactless payments at participating stores to earn an 8% cashback.

If you make the same payment with a Sumitomo Mitsui Card (NL), you’ll only receive a 7% cashback, and even if you meet the conditions of the V-Point Up Program, the maximum cashback rate is capped at 18.5%. Note that with either card, if you make a contactless payment using the physical credit card instead of your smartphone, you’ll only receive a 0.5% cashback.

In other words, Olive Flexible Pay receives preferential treatment among Sumitomo Mitsui Card products. Please be very careful, as there are still quite a few explanatory videos and websites out there that haven’t been updated with this information.

The True Nature of the Mysterious “Olive”

“Olive” launched in March ’23 alongside the V-Point Up Program.Mitsui Sumitomo Bank describes it as a “comprehensive financial service for individuals.” Specifically, it’s embedded as a mini-app within the bank’s app, allowing users to apply for an SBI Securities account or use the asset management features of Money Forward ME—it certainly offers excellent functionality. But to be honest, it’s hard for the average user to grasp the big picture.

An Olive account is, ultimately, an online bank account for which no passbook is issued. It’s important to keep these basics in mind: an Olive account is a multifunctional online account, and the cash card issued when you open an Olive account is called the Olive Flexible Pay.

Additionally, in June 2025—when Mitsubishi UFJ Bank raised its credit card cashback rate to 7%—it released “Emutt,” a mini-app that offers features and services similar to Olive. Unlike Olive, which requires users to create a separate account, existing customers who already have an account can start using Emutt immediately, making its design much more intuitive.

Major Retailers Join the V-Point Program

Let’s take a look at the fierce competition among the megabanks’ credit cards, as well as the strategies and future prospects of each camp.

First, Sumitomo Mitsui is seriously aiming to dominate the “V-Point ecosystem.” In June 2026, the mutual exchange of PayPay Points and V-Points began. The partnership with PayPay Points—which holds an overwhelming market share in smartphone code payments and is easy to use for online shopping—significantly enhances the convenience of V-Points.

Furthermore, at the end of July the following year, Seven & i Holdings and 7-Eleven Japan announced that they would form a capital and business alliance not only with the SoftBank Group—comprising SoftBank, PayPay, and LINE Yahoo—but also with Sumitomo Mitsui Card.

This is a full-scale integration of “7iD”—Seven & i Holdings’ unified membership platform—into “PayPay ID.” Since 7iD includes customers of Ito-Yokado, this is likely to have a significant ripple effect on V Points members as well, as it adds a major piece to the retail sector, which had previously been a weak point.

8% Cash Back on Rides! Targeting the “Transportation” Sector

Furthermore, the Sumitomo Mitsui camp possesses a powerful “weapon”: “stera.” stera is a next-generation payment platform developed by Sumitomo Mitsui Card in collaboration with Visa Worldwide Japan and others, offering a variety of services to businesses.

One of these services, “stera transit,” is a public transportation payment system that allows users to board trains by tapping their credit cards at station ticket gates or at bus boarding points. It’s already widespread on private railways in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and there are likely quite a few people using it.

When it comes to transportation-related loyalty points, “Suica” has long dominated the market, but it’s hard to imagine any other system—other than “stera transit,” which offers better cost-effectiveness in terms of system maintenance and update costs than Suica—being able to break that stronghold. Furthermore, the accumulation of personal data from transportation usage can be leveraged for new marketing initiatives and services, giving “stera transit” a significant advantage that other competitors lack.

A campaign is currently underway offering up to an 8% cashback when passengers use smartphone contactless payments to ride participating rail and bus operators starting in April ’26. In the Kanto region, this includes major private railways, Tokyo Metro, and the Toei Subway. To qualify for the 8% cashback, passengers must use a smartphone loaded with “Olive Flexible Pay” for the contactless payment.

Stera Transit previously lacked a service equivalent to a commuter pass, which had been pointed out as a weakness; however, a service similar to a commuter pass is scheduled to launch sometime in ’27, which is expected to give a boost to its adoption.

What is Mitsubishi UFJ’s biggest weakness?

On the other hand, the Mitsubishi UFJ camp gives the impression that it hasn’t fully committed to the effort. This is because the points that form the foundation of its economic ecosystem are difficult to understand. While “Global Points,” earned through Mitsubishi UFJ Card, can be exchanged for other points via the website, there are no points that can be used interchangeably.

For example, in the “Rakuten ecosystem” and the “Docomo ecosystem,” the points specific to each ecosystem circulate as that ecosystem’s “currency.” It can be said that the larger the volume of these points in circulation, the larger the scale of the ecosystem.

That is precisely why the recognition and convenience of points are so important, and why cross-use between different point systems is common. If points are easy to earn and highly convenient, users are more likely to actively seek to accumulate them.

Global Points were carried over directly from the pre-renewal “MUFG Card” to the Mitsubishi UFJ Card. Although they have been returned to users for quite some time, their name recognition has not increased at all, and there is no evidence that any efforts were made to popularize them.

Why Was “Ponta” Left Out?

There surely was an option to offer “Ponta Points” as rewards. The Ponta business is operated by Loyalty Marketing, a company established by Mitsubishi Corporation in August 2008. Mitsubishi Corporation remains the largest shareholder, and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank is also listed as a major shareholder, albeit with a smaller stake.

KDDI is the second-largest shareholder after Mitsubishi Corporation, and under a scenario where Ponta Points would be made a universal loyalty program and KDDI (au) would join forces with Mitsubishi Corporation to vie for dominance, Ponta Points were awarded as a benefit for using Mitsubishi UFJ Bank’s services.

Why didn’t this scenario come to fruition? It is speculated that Mitsubishi UFJ Bank made a course correction in its retail strategy.In November 2024, the bank announced that it would purchase all of au’s shares in what was then au Kabucom Securities—a company it had been operating as a joint venture with au—and make it a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Bank. After the acquisition was completed, the company’s name was changed to Mitsubishi UFJ e-Smart Securities.

At the same time, the bank announced it would transfer its entire stake in au Jibun Bank to KDDI.This effectively ended the collaborative relationship with KDDI that had been in place since 2008, when the original “Jibun Bank” was established. While KDDI likely wanted to continue the partnership, it appears that during the decision-making process, Mitsubishi UFJ reviewed its retail strategy and chose to pursue an independent path.

Mitsubishi UFJ’s Strategy to Dominate the Payments Market

Mitsubishi UFJ’s strategy does not appear to be aimed at building a traditional economic ecosystem, but rather at specializing in financial and payment services in the retail sector to secure dominance in that arena. I would like to explore this based on several clues.

As mentioned earlier, the “Mutt” mini-app embedded in Mitsubishi UFJ Bank’s online banking app serves as the “gateway” to the group’s various companies.From here, users are directed to services such as Mitsubishi UFJ Card, Mitsubishi UFJ e-Smart Securities, and the code-based payment service “COIN+ (Coin Plus),” where they can apply for cards or open accounts and check their usage status.

Among these, COIN+ deserves special attention. Operated by Recruit MUFG Business—a joint venture established by Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and Recruit—it is a payment brand that is expected to serve as the cornerstone for turning around the group’s underperforming loyalty program.

In fact, there are plans to launch a points program called “Emutt Points” during fiscal year ’26 (through March ’27). Emutt Points will serve as the Mitsubishi UFJ Group’s universal points system, and the current Global Points are expected to be migrated to it, though details remain undecided.

Crucially, it has been announced that Emutt Points will be transferable to COIN+. If this is implemented, users will be able to convert their points into cash and withdraw them, as well as use them for money transfers and bank deposits, since COIN+ is treated almost like cash. Once Emutt Points can be earned through credit card use, there will be no shortage of ways to spend them.

While there are other ways to convert various types of points into cash, they take time, and above all, the procedures are complex and cumbersome. COIN+ was established to take over the digital currency business previously handled by Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, and it also supports “digital payroll,” which allows salaries to be paid via COIN+.

While there may be some legal hurdles to clear, they likely aren’t that high.

The Future of Stablecoin Integration

Integration with “stablecoins” is also a possibility. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a fixed value pegged to fiat currencies such as the Japanese yen or the U.S. dollar; in Japan, the first yen-pegged stablecoin, “JPYC,” was issued in October 2025.Among the major Japanese banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank is the most proactive regarding stablecoins.

In recent years, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank has been promoting collaborations on digital money with major overseas financial institutions, and just the other day, it announced the establishment of a new company—in partnership with 21 major financial institutions—to support the issuance of stablecoins (Mitsubishi UFJ is the only Japanese bank involved).

Currently, a council comprising three major Japanese banks has been established with the goal of jointly issuing a yen-pegged stablecoin during fiscal year ’26, but observers suspect that Mitsubishi UFJ Bank may beat them to the punch.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group also plans to launch a new digital bank during fiscal year ’26; while details remain unclear, it is conceivable that this digital bank could handle stablecoins. If the exchange of Emut Points for stablecoins becomes a reality, the bank could establish a strong presence in the payments sector.

I’ve gone on at some length here, but we as end users should look forward to reaping the benefits of this competition between the megabanks. Neither bank is likely to back down easily, so this is expected to be a long-term battle.

Both Olive Flexible Pay and Mitsubishi UFJ Card offer standard cards with no annual fee. Of the maximum 20% cashback rate, you can easily earn the additional 10% or so in points by simply logging into the app or setting up your credit card—tasks that are relatively straightforward.

I strongly encourage you to carry both cards and make the most of them.