Apple Japan mobile device users will be able to use Apple Pay for purchases from next month.
It will enable single-touch payments with credit and prepaid card purchases in stores and online.
Apple is also introducing commuter support with Maps, showing ride details and fare breakdowns. Users can pay for travel as well as everyday items using the Suica rechargeable contactless smart card from the JR East rail service.
Apple Pay is accepted anywhere Suica is available, so users can make quick purchases and buy or reload a Suica card or commuter pass via their iPhone.
Japan’s major financial brands will also support Apple Pay, so shoppers can use the service in stores, neighborhood shops and restaurants, as well as online.
East Japan Railway president/CEO Tetsuro Tomita says the company redesigned its offering so iPhone users can have a new experience “from the ground up” and “enjoy the ease and security of using Apple Pay while commuting, in our app and in stores with Suica”.
Contactless payments
Apple products in Japan will support the contactless technology used every day for more than 160 million transactions across Japan.
When Maps launches support for transit in Japan in October, Apple Pay users will be able to map out and pay for their entire commute, including major train, subway, ferry and national bus lines, on their devices.
Apple Pay will support many of the Japanese credit and prepaid cards issued by Aeon, Credit Saison, JCB, Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos, Orient Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Card, Toyota Finance, UC Cards and View Card, and carriers KDDI, NTT Docomo and Softbank. Major global and domestic networks like American Express, ID, JCB, Mastercard and QiucPay are also covered, with users continuing to receive the rewards and benefits offered by their cards.
As well as Apple Stores in Japan, retailers that will accept Apple Pay include convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Circle K, Family Mart, Lawson, Ministop and Sunkus, supermarkets such as Aeon, Apita and Piago, gas stations Eneos and Esso Mobil General, retailers including BicCamera, Matsumoto Kiyoshi and Uniqlo, as well as JapanTaxi and Sukiya.
Online brands accepting Apple Pay in Japan include Base, Demae-Can, Giftee, Jalan.net, JapanTaxi, Minne and Toho Cinema.
