2023 was a banner year for tourism in Japan as COVID-19 subsided and Japan re-opened its borders. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, visitor arrivals to Japan in December 2023 were 2.734 million, a record high for December. Japan’s Tourism Agency reported that in the April to June 2023 period, visitors from Taiwan ranked first in terms of spending.
With the growing number of visitors from Asian countries and regions, there is an increased need to offer convenient payment options for them and support merchants in Japan. PayPay Corporation, a subsidiary of SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434), has been at the forefront of this trend with its “PayPay” cashless payment service.
Cashless payment services from Italy, Macau, Mongolia and Singapore recently added
In 2023, PayPay integrated the cashless payment services of Alipay from Mainland China, AlipayHK from Hong Kong, Kakao Pay from South Korea, TrueMoney from Thailand, Touch 'n Go eWallet from Malaysia, GCash and HelloMoney by AUB from the Philippines and JKO PAY and E.SUN Wallet from Taiwan with its “PayPay” cashless service. Starting January 29, 2024, users of NAVER Pay and Toss from South Korea, OCBC Digital and Changi Pay from Singapore, MyPB from Malaysia, Tinaba from Italy, MPay from Macau, and Hipay from Mongolia can also use PayPay.
According to SoftBank’s calculations in November 2023, approximately 70% of visitors to Japan can now pay for food, drinks, souvenirs, accommodation and more with QR codes placed at the premises of “PayPay” merchants.
It deserves mentioning that payments can only be made at places where customers scan QR codes with their smartphones to make payments (the “user scan method”).
PayPay has a wide reach across Japan–spanning nationwide chain stores to privately owned stores that do not accept credit cards–and it is the only major QR code payment service in Japan that has partnered with Alipay+, an Ant Group product that provides global cross-border mobile payment solutions and marketing solutions for merchants. Participating services from Mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Italy, Macau, Mongolia and Singapore utilize Alipay+, while services from Taiwan connect to the HIVEX® network, a high-performance, secure, multinational distributed ledger technology network provided by TBCASoft, a company that SoftBank has invested in.
Cashless payment services integrated with "PayPay"
| Service name | Location | Provider |
|---|---|---|
| NAVER Pay | South Korea | NAVER FINANCIAL Corp. |
| Toss | South Korea | Viva Republica Inc. |
| OCBC Digital | Singapore | Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited |
| Changi Pay | Singapore | Liquid Group Pte. Ltd. |
| MyPB | Malaysia | Public Bank Berhad |
| Tinaba | Italy | Tinaba S.p.A Banca Profilo S.p.A |
| Mpay | Macau | Macau Pass S.A. |
| Hipay | Mongolia | High Payment Solutions LLC |
| JKO PAY | Taiwan | Jkopay Co., Ltd. |
| E.SUN Wallet | Taiwan | E.SUN COMMERCIAL BANK, LTD. |
| Alipay | Mainland China | Ant Group Co., Ltd. |
| Kakao Pay | South Korea | Kakao Corp. |
| AlipayHK | Hong Kong | Alipay Payment Services (HK) Limited |
| TrueMoney | Thailand | True Money Co. Ltd. |
| Touch ‘n Go eWallet | Malaysia | TNG Digital Sdn Bhd |
| GCash | Philippines | Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovation, Inc.) |
| HelloMoney by AUB | Philippines | Asia United Bank Corporation (AUB) |
Since launching its “PayPay” service in October 2018, PayPay has been working to create an environment that supports merchants seeking to capture tourist-driven demand while enhancing traveler convenience. When visitors pay for goods and services using their cashless payment services through "PayPay" QR codes, after entering the price in yen, amounts can be automatically converted into local currencies. This makes for a stress-free shopping experience, and merchants also benefit from smoother interactions with guests.
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(Posted on January 10, 2024, updated on February 26, 2024)
by SoftBank News Editors
