Tomato Bank

Despite its image as a high-tech nation, in Japan's more rural regions the local populace still maintains a high level of distrust towards modern economic innovations such as cash, and many people prefer to conduct their day-to-day commerce using more tangible units of exchange. During the 20th century a number of produce-orientated banks were formed to serve this market: many have long since been merged into more traditional financial conglomerates, but on a recent trip to western Japan I was delighted to find that the Tomato Bank (トマト銀行) was still holding its own.

One reason why the Tomato Bank has successfully maintained its proud independence over the years is its unique network of cash machines, the only ATMs in the world which dispense vegetable juice as well as cash. It has proved impractical to merge this and other unique features such as the potato-based debit cards into the great national ATM systems. Any potential buyer would have also needed to maintain the bank's vast tomato deposit vaults, buried deep under the Okayama countryside - an undertaking requiring a very specialized technical skillset not widely available in the broader financial industry.

Why not visit the Tomato Bank website at http://www.tomatobank.co.jp/ and check out the Tomato Bank Song while you're there.