KDDI and Rakuten to adｄ “au Kantan Kessai (Easy Payment)”
as a top-up system for its “Edy” e-money service on au mobile wallet

KDDI Corporation (“KDDI,” President: Takahashi Tanaka, Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) and Rakuten, Inc. (“Rakuten,” Chairman and CEO: Hiroshi Mikitani, Head Office: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo)　have announced to add the KDDI carrier payment service “au Kantan Kessai (Easy Payment)” as a top-up system for Edy, Rakuten’s e-money system managed by bitWallet, Inc. (“bitWallet,” CEO: Yoshihisa Yamada, Head Office: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo) , on au mobile wallet “Osaifu-Keitai” (Note 1). The service will be launched on 4 August 2011.

This service represents the first phase of plans based on the strategic collaborative agreement in the e-money sector concluded between KDDI and Rakuten on 29 June 2011. Based on the new concept “Edy | au” that is representative of this collaborative agreement, the two companies will provide a safe and convenient e-money environment to au customers, and together propel forward on marketing activities such as promotions and campaigns. Instead of limiting the service to payments, the two companies also aim to create a new business model that includes the review of a program that can direct customers to real stores based on the Edy payment system as well as the attributes and buying information/position information of au’s 33 million customers.

Specifically, while the topping-up of Edy has conventionally been carried out at convenience store counters or through credit cards, “au Kantan Kessai (Easy Payment)” now offers top-ups of up to 10,000 yen per month (Note 2) for customers using au mobile phones (including smartphones) that are equipped with the “Osaifu-Keitai” function. This enables customers to pay for Edy top-up charges together with their monthly au phone bills, and to complete Edy processes from top-up to usage with just their mobile phones, thus bringing greater convenience to au mobile phone subscribers. In addition, with effect from 27 September 2011, it will also be possible to use the “au Kantan Kessai (Easy Payment)” service with “Edy Autocharge,” an online automatic top-up service provided through the smartphone application “AndroidTM Edy Application.”  

As of the end of July 2011, au points have also been introduced in addition to the Rakuten Super Points that are offered to smartphone users, as part of the service (Note 3) that allows users to accumulate points based on their use of Edy on their mobile phones.

An “Edy | au” birthday campaign has been planned to commemorate the launch of this service. During the period from 4 August to 31 August 2011, 500 yen worth of Edy e-money will be gifted to all customers who top up their Edy for the first time through au mobile phones equipped with “Osaifu-Keitai” functions while toping up more than 5,000 yen worth of Edy e-money in a single charge as well. Customers who are already using Edy on their mobile phones will also be entered into a lucky draw when they top up their Edy using the “au Kantan Kessai (Easy Payment)” service or their Jibun Bank bank account, and 100 lucky customers will each receive 10,000 yen worth of Edy e-money in the draw.   

The two companies aim to expand new businesses through the provision of new e-money services and other initiatives in the future.

(Note 1) “Osaifu-Keitai” is a registered trademark of NTT DOCOMO, INC.

(Note 2) The top-up limit differs according to the au mobile phone subscription plan, number of months of subscription, and age of the customer.

(Note 3) Partner point programs (for smartphone users): au Point Program, Rakuten Super Points, ANA Mileage Club, Yodobashi Gold Point, Belle Maison Point, Ponta, Premium Drivers Card shopping points, Epos Points

 *Edy is a prepaid e-money service managed by bitWallet, Inc., a subsidiary of Rakuten Group.