“au PAY” to be Accepted at certain “Rakuten Pay” Affiliate Stores

Tokyo, June 25, 2019 - Rakuten, Inc., Rakuten Payment, Inc., a Rakuten Group company providing services in payments and marketing, and KDDI Corporation today announced a new cooperation in smartphone payment services. Beginning June 26, 2019, “au PAY,” the smartphone payment service operated by KDDI, will be accepted at certain stores where customers are able to use “Rakuten Pay,” the smartphone payment service provided by Rakuten Payment.

Through the cooperation, Rakuten Pay and au PAY users will be able to select which payment service they wish to use^*1 by scanning a shared QR code^*2 on display at stores displaying the Rakuten Pay and au PAY sticker. For stores which accept Rakuten Pay, the cooperation allows them to easily introduce au PAY without the need for any prior setup.

In November 2018, the Rakuten Group and KDDI agreed to cooperate to promote competition in payments, logistics and telecommunications^*3. Based on this agreement, the cooperation will see Rakuten provide its Rakuten Pay payment platform and part of its network of affiliated stores to KDDI. The two companies will also promote the mutual use of each companies’ payment infrastructure, with the aim of realizing a cashless society and providing customers with greater levels of convenience. The companies are also considering implementing initiatives such as joint campaigns in the future.

Going forward, Rakuten, Rakuten Payment and KDDI, plan to increase the number of locations where Rakuten Pay and au PAY can be used and enhance their services in order to provide users with a value for money, highly convenient payment experience.

1. Overview
At certain stores which accept payment by Rakuten Pay, customers will be able to use both Rakuten Pay and au PAY for payment by scanning the shared QR code on display in the store. For stores which accept Rakuten Pay, the cooperation allows them to easily introduce au PAY without the need for any prior setup.

2. Participating stores
Stores around Japan where Rakuten Pay is accepted, and the Rakuten Pay and au Pay sticker and shared QR code are on display
* At participating stores, the standard QR code can also be used to make payments

3. Date of service launch
June 26, 2019
* au PAY users are required to updated the au WALLET app


About Rakuten Payment
Rakuten Payment, Inc. is a Rakuten Group company that provides services in payments and marketing. Established in April 2019, Rakuten Payment operates services such as Rakuten Pay (for store payments and for app payments), Rakuten Point Card, Rakuten Edy and Rakuten Check. Rakuten Payment provides convenient and safe payment services to customers and provides affiliated businesses with a wide range of payment services tailored to meet their diverse needs and support through marketing programs leveraging data.
https://payment.rakuten.co.jp/

About Rakuten Pay
Rakuten Pay is a payment service that allows users to make quick payments via a smartphone app by registering a credit card with their Rakuten Pay account. When shopping at eligible stores, users are able to make payments by scanning QR codes displayed on a tablet device in the store or scanning a printed QR code with their smartphone. Users of the Rakuten Pay service can earn Rakuten Super Points and use the points for making payments.

About au PAY
au PAY is a smartphone payment service that can be easily used through the handy au WALLET app. Customers can use it for shopping and payment at eligible stores by reading the barcode or QR code displayed on the app on POS registers and various devices. Since the end of May 2019, Sugi Pharmacy and Big Echo have been added to the list of places where au PAY is available – a list that is expanding steadily. Currently, a maximum of 26.5% of money used returns to customers as au WALLET points.
https://aupay.wallet.auone.jp/　


*1 Customers will not be able to use au PAY in every store where Rakuten Pay is available.
*2 This refers to a one-time or printed QR code that can be displayed and printed from the Rakuten Pay app for stores. This cannot be used with POS and small payment devices (Sunmi, etc.). Participating stores must agree to the specified special terms. This does not apply to certain contract types. For more details, please check the Rakuten Pay homepage.
*3 Please see the following page for more details:
KDDI and Rakuten Cooperate to Promote Competition in Payments, Logistics and Telecommunications
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2018/1101_02.html