GMO Aozora Net Bank and SimpleForm Officially Launch AI Interview Product for Corporate Account Screenings to Further Improve CX

GMO Aozora Net Bank, Ltd. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Takehito Kaneko, Chairman; Satoshi Mizumachi, President; hereinafter "GMO Aozora Net Bank") and SimpleForm, Inc. (Meguro-ku, Tokyo; Shota Tashiro, CEO; hereinafter "SimpleForm") are pleased to announce the full-scale introduction of SimpleForm's AI interview product, 'SimpleInterview,' into the corporate account opening screening process at GMO Aozora Net Bank. Since September 2025, the two companies have been conducting validation tests (*1) for this product. The decision for official introduction was made based on the following results: (1) verification that the quality of screening is equivalent to or better than conventional methods, (2) reduction of document deficiencies and improved customer satisfaction by using AI interviews to verify information provided by customers, and (3) a 33% improvement (*2) in the screening process efficiency compared to conventional methods, resulting in shorter wait times for customers from application to account utilization. With this full-scale introduction, the companies aim to achieve standardization and improved transparency in account opening screening decisions, and will continue to work together to further enhance customer convenience.

Background of Introduction:
Screening for account opening at financial institutions typically requires various documents and a screening period of several weeks due to strict verification requirements, including the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. Additionally, many screening processes rely on human judgment, which creates structural challenges such as high workloads and costs. On the other hand, submitted documents and formal checks alone may not fully capture the actual state of a company, leading to human interviews for better understanding. However, screening decisions through interviews tend to depend on the experience and knowledge of individual staff, making the reproducibility and standardization of decisions an industry-wide challenge. GMO Aozora Net Bank has been continuously improving its corporate account opening process to promote account opening for startups and small-to-medium-sized enterprises while balancing the prevention of fraudulent accounts with customer convenience. To further advance these efforts, the bank collaborated with SimpleForm to consider improvements aimed at enhancing screening operations and reducing workloads. Having confirmed the effectiveness through validation since September 2025, the bank has now reached the official introduction of the AI interview product.

Timing of Full-scale Introduction:
Starting Monday, May 11, 2026, AI interviews lasting approximately 10 minutes, requiring no prior reservation, will begin for account opening screenings through GMO Aozora Net Bank's 'Corporate Account Opening Navigator.' Target customers will be notified by GMO Aozora Net Bank. Before the AI interview starts, the flow of the interview and precautions will be displayed. Customers must agree to the privacy policy and terms of use on the same screen before the interview begins. Information collected through the web interview will be stored and managed by SimpleForm and operated based on their handling policies.

About Corporate Account Opening Screening via AI Interview:
AI interviews can be started at any time, 365 days a year (*3), at the customer's convenience. Based on multiple sources of information, such as websites and SimpleForm's unique qualitative information database of 5 million corporations nationwide, the AI generates interview questions in real-time tailored to each company, and customers respond orally. In the future, questions based on information declared at the time of application or submitted documents are planned to be added. Through continuous question generation by AI, GMO Aozora Net Bank aims to grasp customer declarations more accurately and in detail, deepening the understanding of business operations. Furthermore, by utilizing the function to automatically generate a 'Comprehensive Evaluation Report' that integrates the record of the 'SimpleInterview' with the information provided at the time of application, screening staff can efficiently and appropriately grasp evaluation items and points of concern. This also leads to improved screening accuracy through cross-referencing with AI interview records.

*1 Validation for efficiency and sophistication of corporate account opening screening (https://www.simpleform.co.jp/news/1BRXrbML)
*2 Comparison of account opening rates between conventional human screening and screening with AI interviews
*3 Excluding the operating hours of the Registration Information Provision Service