Pilot study to commence for the community-oriented information banking service "MINLY" in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture ~ Japan's first such service to operate with "Information Bank" certification~

Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is commencing pilot testing of its community-oriented information banking service "MINLY" (hereinafter the "Service"), which uses the mechanism of information bank (Note 1) to distribute personal data safely and securely to establishments in the local community in order to boost consumer convenience while achieving community revitalization. The testing is due to start in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture in early March 2020.

Under this Service, customers who live in or visit Toyota City provide, with their consent, personal data such as age, gender, areas of interest, action history and schedule to the Service, and receive, in return, suitable shopping information, discount vouchers and event information from some 50 participating businesses in Toyota City (e.g. local retailers) and 25 facilities associated with Toyota City (e.g. community centers). The pilot testing is carried out with support from the Toyota City Connected Society Verification Promotion Council of Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture.

The Service has been given "Information Bank P Certification" (Note 2) by the Information Technology Federation of Japan (hereinafter "IT Federation") as a project ready to commence information banking services. Chubu Electric Power is the first company to acquire the certification to launch the Service. It will proceed with the pilot study to obtain full certification as Information Bank in the future.

As part of its community support infrastructure business, Chubu Electric Power utilizes various data to improve the quality of life for individuals, while working toward creating services that will lead to local revitalization.

(Note 1) A mechanism that collects and manages personal data and day-to-day living data with consent from individuals, and distributes the data safely and securely to establish efficient and advanced services and pass benefits back to consumers

(Note 2) A certification program developed by the IT Federation based on considerations by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, designed to indicate that a service adopts privacy protection measures of international standards and meets certification criteria on information security. The program offers "P Certification," granted to projects that have reached a stage of service commencement and "Full Certification," which shows that operational "information bank" services are managed appropriately under the PDCA cycle.