Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is considering an IPO in the U.S. for its credit card business, following SoftBank’s PayPay listing plans. Mizuho Financial Group holds a 15% stake in Rakuten Card, valuing it at over $7 billion. Rakuten Card aims to increase profits and expand its corporate customer base.

Rakuten, led by CEO Hiroshi Mikitani, revolutionized Japan’s finance sector by simplifying credit card applications. Credit cards are crucial to Rakuten’s diverse services, including online shopping, banking, and travel. Rakuten listed Rakuten Bank in Tokyo two years ago and aims to list Rakuten Securities. Rakuten Card issued over 30 million credit cards in Japan.

Rakuten Card’s non-GAAP operating profit grew 20% to 62 billion yen last year but fell 4.5% in the April-June quarter due to higher costs. The company aims to increase profit to 100 billion yen and expand its corporate customer base. Rakuten’s shares rose 4.7% after news of the potential U.S. IPO, surpassing the Topix index’s 1.6% rise.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Exclusive-Japan’s Rakuten weighing US IPO of credit card business, sources say