January 26, 2011
  • bitWallet, Inc.

E-Money “Edy” and Marui Group's
“Epos Card” Link Point Programs

bitWallet, Inc. of the Rakuten Group (“bitWallet,” CEO: Yoshihisa Yamada, Head Office: Shinagawa-ku, Japan)and Epos Card Co., Ltd. of the Marui Group (“Epos Card,” CEO: Tatsuya Shinose, Head Office: Nakano-ku, Tokyo) announced that they launched a service linking the point programs of “Edy” managed by bitWallet and “Epos Points” managed by Epos Card that started on Wednesday, January 26, 2011.

The service represents the second joint effort by Marui Group Co., Ltd. and Rakuten, Inc. following their agreement on business partnership in e-commerce and other areas reached in November 2010. In the first undertaking of this tie-up, Marui merchandise was made available through Rakuten’s online shopping mall, Rakuten Ichiba, in December 2010.

Specifically, users who use Edy with the “Osaifu-Keitai(R)” (*1) after going through the prescribed registration procedure (*2) get one “Epos Point” for each accumulated amount of 1,000 yen in monthly purchases. Since Edy is available at over 255,000 convenience stores, supermarkets, drugstores and other outlets, users can accumulate Epos Points through their daily purchases of a variety of goods and services.

The two companies also launched a service to use the Epos Card to charge credit cards, making it possible to charge Edy with ease online, 24 hours a day. The use of the Epos Card to charge credit cards also earns “Epos Points” for users, giving one point for each accumulated charge of 1,000 yen in the total monthly charge amount.

“Epos Points” accumulated through the use of Edy and credit card charges are exchangeable for discounts in settling shopping bills at Marui stores as well as for gift certificates (in settlements of shopping bills at Marui stores, each Epos Point is converted into 5 yen).

bitWallet and Epos Card plan to take advantage of the linkage of their point programs to seek to increase opportunities for the use of Edy by Epos Card members using the “Osaifu-Keitai(R),” and hopes the point linkage service will further promote the use of the Epos Card through enhanced services to Epos Card members. Going forward, they also plan to introduce the use of Edy at Marui stores and on the Marui web channel.

In commemoration of the start of the point linkage service, the two companies also launched a campaign on January 26, 2011, to present users who use the Epos Card to charge their credit for an accumulated amount of 5,000 yen or more with the “Osaifu-Keitai(R)” during the period between January 26 and February 28, after going through the prescribed registration procedure, with 200 “Epos Points” (equivalent to a discount of 1,000 yen at Marui stores).

Going forward, bitWallet and Epos Card will continue to strive to offer new services to enhance user satisfaction, seeking the integration of the internet and real shopping spaces pursued by both the Marui Group and the Rakuten Group.


*1: The two companies will consider the granting of “Epos Points” when Edy is used with smartphones with the “Osaifu-Keitai(R)” function.
*2: The registration procedure for accumulating Epos points.


※ “Edy” is a prepaid e-money service brand managed by bitWallet, Inc.
※ “Osaifu-Keitai(R)” is the registered trademark of NTT DoCoMo, Inc.

 

 

*Please note that the information contained in press releases is current as of the date of release.

  • Month
  • Year
  • Category
  • Month
  • Year
  • Category