Japan to start stamping out rubber stamps and tearing up faxes as new digital agency given Sept. 1 start date
- Reference: 1620889091
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/05/13/japan_digital_agency_law_passed/
- Source link:
The nation has already introduced an identifier called “My Number”. The new plan calls for My Number to be recognised across national and local governments and to merge with other identifiers like health insurance numbers and drivers’ licences. Japanese central and local governments plan to eventually harmonise their back-office technology to make it easier to deliver digital services that draw on personal information attached to a My Number profile.
My Number is currently card-based. Laws passed yesterday will allow it to be stored in an app, and smartphones used to identify citizens as they access services.
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Services will also be digitalised, a big change given that securing a physical stamp or seal on a paper document can often be required when working with Japan’s governments. Faxes also remain prevalent in Japan, and the inefficiencies they entail were starkly pointed out early in the COVID-19 pandemic when faxed medical records and other communications moved with frustrating lack of speed. Slow rollout of COVID-related stimulus payments also hurt Japan in 2020 and were attributed in part to poor digital services.
A digitalisation drive was a key policy platform for new prime minister Yoshihide Suga as he strove for the top job in late 2020.
[3]Japan accuses Chinese military of cyber-attacks on its space agency
[4]Japan tests digital currency, because all the cool kids are doing it already
[5]Printers used to be a pricey luxury in Asian homes, then along came ... you know what
[6]LINE stops data flowing to China after Japanese officials ditch app over privacy concerns
As a result of legislation passing yesterday, the digital transformation agency he said was needed to do the job will start operations on September 1st.
Some of the new agency’s tasks are not expected to be completed for years, so there’s plenty of scope for slow-motion messes on the road to a more digital Japan. ®
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[3] http://www.theregister.com/2021/04/21/japan_accuses_china_of_attacking_jaxa/
[4] http://www.theregister.com/2021/04/06/japan_pursues_digital_currency_because/
[5] http://www.theregister.com/2021/03/31/asia_pacific_printers/
[6] http://www.theregister.com/2021/03/24/line_blocks_china_server_access/
[7] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
depends on your bank. Santander accept cheques at branch cash machines. you can also request an envelope and paying in slip then take to a post office and they will accept it.
I got a cheque in US dollars a year or so ago. That was really hard to pay in, my Building Society wouldn't touch it. This is a shame as the US still loves cheques.
"The US still loves cheques"
Strange, isn't it. I was also surprised with how long it took "chip and pin" to make any significant inroads - it was always a shock having to sign for purchases after not doing so here for nearly a decade.
For the value of the cheque, though (<£20), figuring it out hardly seems worth my time!
Frustrating, isn't it
I look after a business that collects income related to a contract a charity has with a local farmer.
I've been raising invoices twice a year for the past six years, all of which include include details and instructions for electronic payment, but the agent still insists on paying by cheque. Cheques are a real pain, as the bank makes it very hard to pay them in by post and a trip to the nearest branch wastes about an hour of my time - last trip required me to wait outside for 20 minutes in the rain "for social distancing" (there were three people inside a branch the size of a sports hall).
I thought this might change during the pandemic, especially as I added "Due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, electronic payment would be appreciated" in 1.5cm high, red text. Even that failed to make a difference :-( I don't get why a business wouldn't jump at the chance of paying electronically.
Re: Frustrating, isn't it
A friend of mine was in a similar situation a few years back, almost everyone had switched to paying electronically, which they'd been encouraging for a few years. All except a couple of companies, one used a cheque, the other put cash in an envelope!
Their solution was to add a surcharge to non electronic payments, to cover administration costs.
"administration costs"
I suggested this to the accountant, but I was told it would not be legal. I need to chase it again, as I think that would only be the case for business to consumer.
Re: Frustrating, isn't it
Businesses holding out with cheques do so for one of two reasons; either wee Mary in accounts doesn't know how to modernise and has heard scare stories or more likely because they know it'll take you longer to cash it - if at all - meaning the money stays in their account longer or indeed indefinitely.
See Spotify et al.
Some banks let you pay it in by taking a photo of it in their mobile banking app.
Yes, this is starting to appear. I wonder if they'll all get it rolled out before cheques vanish completely as they nearly did* a few years ago in the UK?
* Only stopped due to a campaign along the lines of "What about people without smart phones"?
Barcleys allow this. I'm a chip and sign user due to my dyslexia, and run a business. The first thing you have to do to setup the app? Choose a 5 digit number.
I asked why they think I can remember a 5 digit number when they accept I can't remember a 4 digit pin, and their reply "It's not a PIN, it's a passcode".
Yes, they honestly told me that as it's got a different title, that should be enough to over come my inability to remember numbers in the right order :(
Hopefully a problem covered by your bank's FAQ page?
Do you mean the QNA page?
https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2021/04/23/something_for_the_weekend/
My number
Japan's government: "You are number 6"
A Japanese citizen: "I am not a number! I'm a free man!"
Be seeing you.
Re: My number
That would've worked better for the person 24995 positions later in the queue...
Electronic Banking
I volunteer with a small charity and we prefer cheques as we can bank these free, we are also happy with BACS payments. Any other type of transaction costs us money: Hire or purchase of card reader, % of transaction, connection to the internet. So why go digital?
Bank charges
Yeah, it's not easy if you want to collect donations. I was looking into this for a local charity, and the best I could find for card payments was no monthly charges with something like a 1.7% transaction fee v 0.3% for cash (with a minimum of £3).
My (soon to be ex) business bank charges more for cheques than electronic credits*. New one does everything "for free" (except cash).
* I always thought it was a right con being charged £0.25 for an electronic credit - surely that should be covered by the general account administration charge as it doesn't (well, shouldn't) cost extra for the processing?
Bold move ..
So much innaovation and new tech from the Land of the Rising Sun!
Almost "Digital Transformation"
Slightly sarcastic, writing from Estonia / E-Estonia, but as i understand .. this country is REALLY conservative about how things get done
Always faintly surprised
When articles appear saying that Japan, assumed as one of the most technically advanced nations, is still dependent on paperwork, rubber stamps, faxes and couriers, to run their daily lives. That probably explains Fujitsu.
Also, if I remember, isn’t it lawyers in the US that are the only reason why there is still a typewriter manufacturer somewhere? Oilyvetti perhaps?
Someone gave me a cheque the other day. I still haven't figured out how to actually pay it in.