Learn in the textbookSystems for Finance and Social Infrastructure
DefinitionA financial information system (金融情報システム) is any of the information systems that banks, securities firms, insurers and other financial institutions use to process money transactions such as deposits, transfers and settlements.
ExplanationA bank's systems are often described in three parts: the core accounting system (勘定系) that rewrites account balances directly, the information (analytics) systems (情報系) that analyze stored transaction data, and the external systems (対外系) that link to other banks and outside payment networks. Even a small error or outage can affect a great many customers and transactions, so these systems secure high reliability and security through measures such as duplicated equipment. Transfers between banks go through a shared network called the Zengin System (全銀システム).
AnalogyThink of a giant counting house that logs every coin going in and out of town and can never close for a day.
Memory hookThe Japanese 勘定 (kanjō) means bookkeeping accounts, so 勘定系 is literally the part that books money in and out at the core.