JCB Co. and Orix Corp. said Friday they have agreed to a comprehensive partnership aimed at expanding their financial services for corporate and individual customers.

Announcing one of the first major business tieups between two nonbank financial institutions, the two firms said they may offer a range of settlement services jointly in the future.

The arrangement will enable JCB, the nation's largest credit-card issuer, to tap into Orix's expertise in working with corporate clients, while Orix, the top domestic leasing firm, will gain access to JCB's expertise in settlement services for individual customers.

The partners said they are currently studying several ideas for the alliance, including beefing up JCB's payment outsourcing service for corporate clients by utilizing Orix's extensive knowledge in the field of corporate credit administration.

A JCB spokeswoman said the company offers the outsourcing service for businesses that must make regular payments to a large number of firms.

The service uses JCB's expertise in transaction settlement between credit-card holders and businesses. But its growth has been limited as JCB has lacked the kind of corporate credit administration expertise Orix has, the spokeswoman said.

About 50 million people have JCB credit cards. Orix operates leasing and financial businesses serving some 500,000 firms.