Tokyo, February 1, 2017 – Rakuten, Inc. today announced that the Rakuten Pay in-store payment system will be expanded to support 14 major electronic money brands and Android Pay™*1 from summer 2017. Among similar payments services in Japan, Rakuten Pay is the first to support the 14 major electronic money brands in the country.
With Rakuten Pay, Rakuten is able to provide affiliated stores with a single payments service that supports a variety of payment methods, including credit cards, electronic money and a smartphone app, allowing them to meet the diverse needs of their customers. Rakuten Pay will accept payments made through Rakuten Edy, the electronic money service provided by Rakuten Group, nine electronic money brands affiliated to transport organizations, including “Suica” and “PASMO”, “nanaco” which can be used at Seven & i Holdings retailers across Japan, “WAON” the electronic money brand provided by the AEON Group (planned service launch in 2018) , as well as “QUICPay+TM” and “iD*1.” As the system supports “Rakuten Edy”, it is also compatible with Android Pay™. In the future there are plans to make the service compatible with payment services based on the international NFC (Near Field Communication)*2 standard, such as “Visa payWave”*3 , “Mastercard® Contactless”*4 and “J/Speedy”*5 making it possible for affiliated stores to process payments made by foreign tourists visiting Japan as well.
In preparation for the beginning of this service expansion, the “Rakuten Card & NFC Reader Elan” (18,800 yen including tax) will also become available for purchase from March 6, 2017*6. This device is equipped with functions that enable payment through both credit cards and electronic money. For participating stores that already carry the older device and stores that wish to accept only major electronic money brands, the “Rakuten NFC Reader Piu” (4,980 yen including tax), an electronic money reader that is equipped with NFC functions, is scheduled to go on sale in the summer of 2017.
Rakuten launched the Rakuten Pay in-store payment system, originally a settlement service for credit cards, in December 2012 with the aim of expanding the Rakuten Ecosystem to brick-and-mortar stores. In October 2016, Rakuten began providing a smartphone app service through Rakuten Pay which utilizes the Rakuten Member ID, further driving innovation and capitalizing on the strengths of its FinTech businesses, such as Rakuten Card and Rakuten Bank. The Rakuten Pay in-store payment system is recognized for its convenience, as well as paying by Rakuten Super Point.
By working to continually expand its payment services offerings and functions, Rakuten aims to further improve satisfaction for participating stores and customers.
