Customers at six 7-Eleven convenience stores in Tokyo, Japan, can now make cashless payments for their purchases by interacting with a holographic screen projected from a contactless self-checkout kiosk... More
Japan
BIS finds consumers worldwide are switching to digital and contactless payments at ‘unprecedented rate’
Consumers in key markets around the world have switched from physical cash to digital and contactless payment methods at “a rate unprecedented” since the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) launched its Red Book of payment and settlement statistics in 2004, BIS says... More
Japanese merchants trial face payments for customers wearing a mask
Consumers using 10 restaurants and retail outlets in the Japanese city of Niigata can now test a biometric payments service that lets them authenticate contactless payments with their face even if they are wearing a mask... More
JCB demos offline machine-to-machine payments using NFC
Japanese payments network JCB has demonstrated a machine-to-machine payments infrastructure that enables merchants to conditionally accept NFC payments even when both purchaser and merchant are offline... More
JR East launches contactless coffee shop with AI-powered robot barista
Rail passengers at Tokyo and Yokohama stations in Japan can now order, collect and pay for coffee made by a six-armed AI-powered robot barista — known as Ella — at a fully automated contactless coffee shop... More
NFC digital car keys go live for Android users
Android users with a Samsung Galaxy 21 or Google Pixel 6 series smartphone can now lock, unlock and start compatible vehicles using an NFC digital car key stored on their mobile device... More
Japanese banks gear up to test digital currency
A consortium of more than 70 leading banks, financial services providers and other businesses in Japan is to conduct a series of proof of concept (PoC) trials of a digital currency supported by commercial banks across a range of specific use cases with the aim of rolling the currency out by the end of the 2022 fiscal year... More
Japanese university trials face payments for users wearing a mask
Students and staff at Kindai University in the Japanese city of Osaka are testing a biometric payments service that enables them to authenticate payments with their face even when they are wearing a mask... More
ANA invites passengers with NFC phones to pilot IATA digital travel pass
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is to trial the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass app, enabling passengers on selected flights between Japan and the US to verify their identity and their Covid-19 test results at check-in on their NFC-enabled smartphone... More
Visa switches on Apple Pay support in Japan
Consumers in Japan can now add their Visa credit or debit cards to Apple Pay and use them to make in-store, in-app and online payments from their iPhone or Apple Watch... More
Retail CBDC projects ‘particularly strong’ in emerging economies, PwC index shows
Projects to develop a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) for use by consumers and businesses are “more advanced” and “particularly strong” in emerging economies, according to analysis by global consultancy firm PwC... More
Japanese convenience store trials face and palm biometrics for checkout-free shopping
The Green Leaves+ shop-and-go store in the Yokohama Techno Tower Hotel in Japan is piloting a biometrics-enabled checkout-free service that allows customers to enter the store by verifying their identity with just their face and a swipe of their palm... More
Japanese airline turns to mobile payments to boost revenues during Covid-19
Frequent flyers with All Nippon Airways (ANA) will soon be able to make in-store purchases and accumulate air miles by using a QR code-enabled mobile payments service that the Japanese airline is to launch “amid shrinking travel demand due to the coronavirus outbreak,” Japan Today reports... More
JCB reports 30% rise in contactless payments volumes
The number of contactless transactions made by some 140 million JCB cardholders across 24 markets increased by more than 30% between July 2019 and July this year, the Tokyo-based payments network reports in a new white paper... More
JR East to offer extra loyalty points to transit card users travelling off-peak
Commuters on JR East train services in the Tokyo metropolitan area who pay for their tickets using a commuter pass stored on their Suica transit card will receive additional JRE loyalty points for travelling outside peak times from March 2021... More
Japanese café uses Apple’s new NFC App Clips to let customers order and pay with their mobile phone
Customers at the Kitasando Coffee shop in Tokyo can now tap an NFC tag with their iPhone to launch the company’s App Clip, place their order and then use Apple Pay to pay for their food and drink... More
NFC Forum reports on consumer attitudes and adoption trends across the world
Seven in ten consumers are confident with the security contactless cards/mobile wallets provide and 88% report a consistently positive user experience with NFC contactless technologies, a survey of consumers in nine countries around the world has found... More
Visa lets merchants in 15 countries accept contactless payments on standard NFC phones
Merchants in more than 15 countries around the world are now able to use Android NFC smartphones and tablets to accept contactless payments with no additional hardware required, Visa has announced... More
JCB, Mizuho Bank and Fujitsu to test blockchain-based identity exchange technology for securing transactions
One hundred employees of Japanese tech giant Fujitsu are taking part in a four-month trial of a blockchain-based interoperable identity verification system that “enables secure transactions involving sensitive user ID information between companies and industries”... More
KFC Japan trials contactless lockers for mobile order pickups
Customers at four KFC outlets in Japan can now order and pay for their meals online, set a time for collection and then pick up their order from a contactless locker installed on the store’s counter... More