Japan unveils new scheme to speed up adoption of cashless payments
(2020/09/29)
- Reference: 1601349346
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/09/29/japan_accelerates_cashless_payments/
- Source link:
Japan has launched a new scheme to speed up the adoption of cashless payments .
The scheme, called the “whole area cashless infrastructure construction project”, aims to promote face-to-face cashless payments among small-and medium-sized businesses that continue to cling to cash.
It's also a pandemic-prevention promotion: the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry announcement of the promotion says it aims to "realize an environment in which infectious diseases are less likely to spread and the construction of a foundation for stimulating consumption in the region." Tourism operators, and shopping districts, are among the targets, in the hope that they promote economic activity by providing a cleaner experience.
The government aims to spur adoption by spending ¥790m ($7.5m) to subsidise such businesses for up to two-thirds of the cost of cashless terminals and related software. The government will also cover costs of advertising the new payment system, up to a total of five per cent of the individual project.
For a country that has build a gadget for every conceivable task, Japan is a curiously analogue society. Despite several projects by the government, cash remains by far the country’s most popular payment method. Until recently, official documents needed to be signed with [1]hanko seals .
The government has tried to accelerate change ahead of the Rugby World Cup it hosted in 2019 and the 2020 Olympics, so that international visitors would find a more familiar shopping experience. In 2019 the nation's government teamed with Visa on a big cashless push that offered customers cash back or rewards for up to five per cent of the value of transaction. This has been helped along by new QR code payment systems such as PayPay and Line Pay.
According to eMarketer, a market research firm, the plan is working. Although cash remains king in Japan, they [2]estimate that 23.9m people will use cashless payments this year, up from 19.1m people last year. By 20203, that figure is projected to grow to 27.6m – a quarter of the country’s population. ®
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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(East_Asia)
[2] https://www.emarketer.com/content/japan-s-cashless-vision-starting-come-fruition
[3] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The scheme, called the “whole area cashless infrastructure construction project”, aims to promote face-to-face cashless payments among small-and medium-sized businesses that continue to cling to cash.
It's also a pandemic-prevention promotion: the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry announcement of the promotion says it aims to "realize an environment in which infectious diseases are less likely to spread and the construction of a foundation for stimulating consumption in the region." Tourism operators, and shopping districts, are among the targets, in the hope that they promote economic activity by providing a cleaner experience.
The government aims to spur adoption by spending ¥790m ($7.5m) to subsidise such businesses for up to two-thirds of the cost of cashless terminals and related software. The government will also cover costs of advertising the new payment system, up to a total of five per cent of the individual project.
For a country that has build a gadget for every conceivable task, Japan is a curiously analogue society. Despite several projects by the government, cash remains by far the country’s most popular payment method. Until recently, official documents needed to be signed with [1]hanko seals .
The government has tried to accelerate change ahead of the Rugby World Cup it hosted in 2019 and the 2020 Olympics, so that international visitors would find a more familiar shopping experience. In 2019 the nation's government teamed with Visa on a big cashless push that offered customers cash back or rewards for up to five per cent of the value of transaction. This has been helped along by new QR code payment systems such as PayPay and Line Pay.
According to eMarketer, a market research firm, the plan is working. Although cash remains king in Japan, they [2]estimate that 23.9m people will use cashless payments this year, up from 19.1m people last year. By 20203, that figure is projected to grow to 27.6m – a quarter of the country’s population. ®
Get our [3]Tech Resources
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(East_Asia)
[2] https://www.emarketer.com/content/japan-s-cashless-vision-starting-come-fruition
[3] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Uh yes we accept cash,
redpawn
but you need three forms of identification and a credit check.
Mixed Picture
Thing is, Japan has had cashless payments for small value items for a very long time. In some places. The Suica card in the Tokyo region is a bit like London Transport’s Oyster card - it buys metro and bus rides - but it also works on vending machines, convenience stores, coffee shops, etc. What puzzled me about Europe’s and the West’s development of NFC payment was that they were developing something just like Suica, but reinventing it seemingly in ignorance of the fact that there was already a system in widespread use in the Far East.
Suica was also integrated into phones long before Apple Pay became a thing. Though it was done in a manner more akin to glueing a Western NFC credit card to the case rather than integrating it into the phone’s OS directly.
Cash remains king in Japan because people don’t trust the banks. There’s been a lot of fraud with ebanking. The banks are also technologically backward in their use and understanding of technology; hence the primitivism of the approach to security and payment systems. So when you pay electronically, it just doesn’t feel right as any problems with it are going to be embarrassing all round. If you pay by cash, you’ve definitely, positively, with a guarantee of no inconvenience for the payee, paid.
There’s the whole social thing associated with handing over a large pile of neatly pressed and arranged notes to close a large purchase. A scruffy card just doesn’t compare. And in this day of plastic notes in the UK, I have to say that the feel of Japan’s notes made out of mulberry tree bark paper is really quite something, especially when new and crisp; there’s even a lovely smell. Things like this are really quite important.
Using a uk chip and pin card there is amusing sometimes. I’ve occasionally had to look at what their till is saying, because it’s saying it in English and they’ve no idea what it means. One types in one’s PIN and the machine says all good, and it’s all a bit mysterious. I’ve had supermarkets accept nothing more than a mag strip swipe, no signature, and it all seems Ok. I’ve had a tyre shop apologising because their machine didn’t understand my card, and would it be ok to sign an old fashioned imprinted voucher.