Sony 2005 Annual Report Download - page 23

Sony Corporation 21
example of risk segmentation. Policyholders can enjoy this option when their traveled
distance does not exceed a specified annual limit, and apply a discount to the follow-
ing year’s premiums, the size of which is based on the distance remaining under the
limit. Sony Assurance also launched a new service that eliminates the requirement for
policyholders to report to the insurance company and to pay extra premiums when
they exceed the distance limit agreed to in the policy.
In medical insurance, to respond to diversifying customer needs, Sony Assurance
broadened the choice of coverage options for its whole-life insurance products and
commenced sales of SURE Basic and SURE Wide in May 2005.
In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005, net premiums increased 18%, to ¥36.6
billion. The total number of automobile and cancer insurance policies in force
surpassed 650,000.
Sony Bank
Sony Bank, founded as an Internet bank that provides asset management and other
financial services to individual customers, has actively and inventively offered various
new services.
In June 2004, the New Zealand dollar was added to the foreign currency deposit
transaction service line-up. The foreign currency deposit service is one of the bank’s
main services. In addition, to support individual customers’ flexible investment activi-
ties, in December 2004 Sony Bank introduced limit order services as well as foreign
currency time deposits with special agreements.
In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005, Sony Bank newly added 17 investment
trusts to its investment trust business, bringing the total number of funds it handles to
40. Meanwhile, the bank successfully enhanced the features of its housing loan busi-
ness in November 2004 by, among other things, developing a special arrangement
that enables borrowers to partially set various fixed rates from time to time on their
floating-rate loans.
In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005, deposits from customers in the banking
business rose 44%, to ¥546.7 billion, and the balance of loans doubled to ¥126.3
billion. Additionally, the number of accounts at Sony Bank as of March 31, 2005,
increased by 98,968, or 37%, to 367,748.
Sony Finance International
Sony Finance International, Inc., is involved in credit card, e-commerce payment
processing and leasing operations. In 2002, the company began issuing its eLIO-
branded cards, which were created specifically for Internet shopping and incorpo-
rated FeliCa, Sony’s contactless IC card technology. Efforts to increase the number
of member merchants and affiliated partners are supporting steady growth in the total
number of eLIO card members and the volume of transactions. As of March 31, 2005,
Sony Finance International had issued approximately 750,000 eLIO cards and
900,000 conventional credit cards. Developed by Sony Finance International, eLIO is
a simple and secure credit service. Card members place their card on an electronic
reading device, instead of inputting personal identification numbers (PINs) or credit
card numbers, removing the need to transmit such vital information over the Web.
eLIO cards can be used for a variety of transactions, including shopping. They are
compatible with the Edy prepaid e-money service operated by bitWallet, Inc., and
also function as conventional Visa® cards. During the fiscal year, Sony Finance Inter-
national launched eLIO Order, an easy-to-use service allowing card members to
place orders and purchase products with their mobile phones*.
* eLIO Order is available for NTT DoCoMo mobile phones that have been embedded with a chip based
on FeliCa technology.
eLIO card
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