TOKYO, September 27, 2013 – Rakuten, Inc. announced today that it has concluded a merchant agreement with JCB Co., Ltd. for the Rakuten Smartpay Service for credit card transactions on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, and that it will begin accepting a total of four new international credit card brands this autumn, including JCB and American Express.
Both Rakuten and JCB will use this merchant agreement to capture new merchant users of the Rakuten Smartpay Service, and to promote the greater use of credit cards as a form of payment. Now that it accepts JCB and other major international credit cards, Rakuten will turn its attention to expanding services through new merchant stores and smartphone transactions. Meanwhile, JCB anticipates that leveraging Rakuten Group synergies to increase a number of new merchant stores will help to further accelerate the shift of transactions from cash to credit card going forward.