Aqush.jp has launched Aqush Tomo, a p2p lending service to facilitate loans between friends and family members. Aqush is a service of Exchange Corporation K.K., which states it’s mission as “… to leverage innovation and international best practices to pioneer ‘Social’ financial services in Asia. Our goal is to bring transparency and choice to markets and assets that previously were illiquid, opaque and tightly controlled, by empowering people to legally and securely deal directly with each other.”

Aqush offers a framework that helps borrower and lender in creating loan documentation and repayment plans.

Features of the “Basic Service” are

• Creation of promissory notes and repayment schedulesInterest rates mutually agreed between borrower and lender
• Three types of repayment supported – Amortized, Interest Only and Fixed Payment with Balloon.
• Repayment management and tracking using online tools, document backup and email-remainders
• The fee for the “Basic Service” is 8,800 Yen (approx. 88 US$)

The “Plus Service” adds additional features:

• Professional review by Aqush staff
• Repayment processing - payments are made and tracked through an Aqush account
• Annual reporting

The “Plus Service” is priced at about double the “Basic service” plus a small fee for handling each repayment.

Russell Cummer, Executive Director told P2P-Banking.com:

AQUSH TOMO, is a Family and Friends loan documentation and management service …. We are the first service of this kind in Japan ….

We will also be launching a full-service P2P lending exchange, “AQUSH Market”, this summer to cover both the friends and family and true P2P aspects of social finance in Japan.

Aqush is an alternative spelling of the Japanese word for handshake, “Akushu”.

Shaking hands is the most basic "person-to-person" expression of the agreement and mutual responsibility that is at the heart of Social Finance. Their logo captures this handshake theme with stylized figures shaking hands in the final letter of AQUSH.