TOKYO, May 1, 2014 – Rakuten, Inc. announced today that Sharp-Engineering Corporation will adopt the Rakuten Smartpay credit card payment service as one payment option for its repair work performed on digital home electronics as well as various system products, such as photovoltaic systems, beginning steadily in May 2014.
Sharp-Engineering plans on offering the Rakuten Smartpay credit card payment service at all of its nationwide outlets. Its nearly 1,000-strong team of service staff will carry a smartphone with a dedicated credit card reader which will enable customers to pay by credit card.
Sharp-Engineering provides repairs for Sharp products that include services offered onsite at the customer’s location and services at its own facilities. Since repair work of digital home electronics and system products, such as photovoltaic systems, can sometimes be expensive, many customers requested that the company offer credit card payments.
Rakuten Smartpay can accept payments made by the six major international credit card brands (*), including Visa, MasterCard and JCB, which will provide a greater range of payment options for Sharp-Engineering’s customers. On the other hand,, Sharp-Engineering will be able to roll out this payment solution simply by purchasing low cost card readers and charging a flat transaction fee of 3.24%.
Rakuten will continue to support a wide range of businesses, from the self-employed to SMEs and large corporations using the Rakuten Smartpay credit card payment service. Rakuten is committed to providing an environment where consumers can easily use their credit cards for payment with peace of mind anywhere.
*The 6 major international credit card brands: Visa, MasterCard, JCB American Express, Diners Club, and Discover