Tokyo, November 7, 2016 – Today, Rakuten Edy, Inc. celebrates its 15th anniversary and the issue of 100 million Rakuten Edy cards*1 since its launch. To celebrate these milestones, Rakuten Edy launched the “Rakuten Edy 15th Anniversary Campaign.”
After initial e-money verification experiments in 1999, Rakuten Edy launched as a service in November, 2001. It has since expanded point partnerships and services through cooperation with convenience stores, restaurants, pharmacies and other major companies.
In January 2010, Rakuten Edy became part of the Rakuten Group and officially changed its company and service name in June 2012, to “Rakuten Edy, Inc.” and “Rakuten Edy” respectively, in order to reinforce brand synergy within the Group. Currently, users are able to exchange Rakuten Super Points for Edy credit, as well as use auto-charge functions. The company is also working with regional supermarkets to promote the introduction of Rakuten Edy into the supermarkets and issue co-branded cards.
In addition to this, thanks to widespread adoption of Edy-Rakuten Point Cards and cards cobranded with regional supermarkets, as well as smartphones using “Osaifu-Keitai ®*2,” the number of cards issued by Rakuten Edy recently reached over 100 million.
In celebration of its 15 years in the market, Rakuten Edy will give users the chance to win a ticket for two to Hawaii or Okinawa, by answering a quiz in the “Rakuten Edy 15th Anniversary Campaign.”
Rakuten Edy will continue working to provide convenient services and boost customer satisfaction.
*1 This number includes “Osaifu-Keitai ®” issuances
*2 “Osaifu-Keitai” is a trademark or registered trademark of NTT DOCOMO, INC. in Japan and/or other countries