(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High Tech News Site in Japan)
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| Personal Finance Software to Boom in Japan: MS Money Manager
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July 16, 1998 (TOKYO) -- Microsoft Co.,
Ltd. of Japan will release the Japanese version of Microsoft Money,
a suite of personal finance tools, on July 25. Although Microsoft Money
has been on sale in the United States since 1991, this is its first
release in Japan.
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Richard Bray (photo), Money Product Unit manager of Microsoft Corp. of
the United States, is making his first visit to Japan ahead of the launch.
He spoke to BizTech's Editorial Department. Explaining what led to the
decision to produce a Japanese version of Money, Bray said, "Deregulation
of the financial sector and increasing worker mobility will trigger
a boom in personal finance software in Japan. It will be soon be commonplace
for Japanese people to manage their own finances on a personal computer."
BizTech: Why has Microsoft decided to launch a Japanese version, seven
years after Money went on sale in the United States?
Bray: The idea of releasing a Japanese version had been around for quite
some time, though we didn't actually start researching the Japanese
market until about 18 months ago. The background factors were deregulation
of the financial sector and increasing mobility in the labor market
in Japan, which make the situation surrounding personal finance quite
similar to what happened in the United States.
With deregulation, a range of financial products are coming on stream.
Also, our research showed that PC users in Japan have dealings with
five financial institutions per household. It's not easy, then, to manage
bank deposits, stocks and bonds, and other financial assets without
computer software.
The employment situation in Japan is heading for major change too. The
lifetime employment system in Japan's companies is starting to collapse,
and people are starting to feel uneasy about pensions after retirement.
In this sort of climate, investment and assets have to be managed from
a long-term perspective. This is where Money comes in, as software that
can help people manage their finances.
The popularity of the Internet is another major reason for releasing
a Japanese version of Money. The Internet is awash with financial information,
and it's growing every day. One of the important roles that Money can
perform is to pick out what the user really needs and give pointers
for the next investment.
BizTech: Apart from financial management, Money is used in the United
States for preparing personal income tax returns. In Japan, though,
income is generally taxed at source, so only sole traders and the like
have to file an individual tax return. Will Money be able to attract
users in Japan, solely as a financial management tool?
Bray: It is not correct that tax returns underpin the need for Money.
In fact, we have data showing that less than 10 percent of people using
software packages like Money are using them to prepare tax returns.
Money has already been released in eight countries, including the United
States. People have to prepare a final tax return in only four of those
countries, including the United Kingdom, which moved to a tax return
system only this year. The other four countries, including France, have
a withholding tax systems like Japan, but Money is selling just as well
there as in the tax return countries. It's not true that Money relies
on the practice of tax preparation.
BizTech: At one stage Microsoft decided to sell Money to Novell Inc.
In effect, Microsoft attempted to get rid of Money. What features have
been enhanced, then, since Microsoft carried on selling Money as its
own product?
Bray: It's on record that Microsoft was planning to take over Intuit
Inc. in 1994 and to switch to Quicken, Intuit's financial management
software. In the end we were forced to pull out because of a lawsuit
brought by the Department of Justice.
It was afterwards that Microsoft really started to make Money a more
powerful product. We put the focus particularly on its personal financial
management features. For instance, we've added a feature that will warn
you in real time if actual expenditures on some item of your household
account exceeds the budgeted amount, and a feature that compares the
interest on your current mortgage with other available mortgage rates
and may suggest refinancing if warranted. Quicken still doesn't have
these tools.
BizTech: For online banking, Money supports both connection to the Internet
and connection to NTT Data Corp.'s ANSER-SPC service. The user has to
choose one or the other. Did you consider having just Internet access?
Bray: Microsoft's basic stance is one of neutrality in regard to financial
institutions. Our policy is to widen choices, not narrow them. In fact,
the U.S. version of Money has five communication protocols to allow
as many users as possible to connect to whatever bank or financial institution
they might use.
In the long term, though, the online banking services offered by financial
institutions will probably veer toward Internet-based services.
BizTech: Are there any plans to include Money in the Office suite?
Bray: No. Office is for business, so the user base differs from Money,
which is for the personal market. We do offer add-in software for linking
Money to Excel, but we have no plans to bundle Money as an Office application.
Related story: Microsoft Japan to Release MS Money for Online Access With Banks
(Hi-Tech News Center)
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