Shinsei Bank opened the first of a new series of mini-branches Tuesday in Tokyo in a bid to attract more customers and promote greater use of Internet banking.

BankSpot outlets are staffed by two to four employees who are trained to help customers open accounts on the Internet, operate ATMs and engage in videophone consultations about housing loans and other products.

Unlike the office-style interiors of many Japanese bank outlets, Shinsei's BankSpot branches are decked out in bright green and brown. The mini-outlets are designed to meet growing demand for support in mobile banking, Shinsei Chairman and CEO Masamoto Yashiro said.

"We wanted to create something totally different from old Japanese bank outlets," Yashiro told reporters.

Shinsei hopes to attract millions of new accounts by setting up as many as 100 BankSpots by the end of fiscal 2008 in major urban areas, including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo.

Shinsei is aiming to open 5 million new accounts within 5 years, from 1.18 million as of the end of November.