The Mobile Wallet in Japan: introduction of convenience and popular apps | Guidable - Your Guide to a Sustainable, Wellbeing-centred Life in Japan

The Mobile Wallet in Japan: introduction of convenience and popular apps

By AyumiMK Jun 19, 2017

Simple life with convenient tool

Nowadays, the technologies in various fields grow up amazingly, and they provide comfortable life to the people all over the world. Even with high technology, we are still living with the concept of money for thousands of years by shape-shifting in each period and country.

Paying by bills or coins has been taken roots in our life so we don’t even feel it is too much work. Decade ago, credit card and debit card were introduced and they break through our concept of paying, but still, paying by cash is the main style in Japan.

In recent years, the concepts of paying style of money are changing especially among the young people. The new style of payment is called “a mobile wallet”・ Who could ever imagine we could pay by using telephone? It is what happened in Japan, and it is getting common because it is greatly convenience.

 

Why the mobile wallet is popular in Japan?

First of all, let us explain what the mobile wallet is. As it is called, mobile and wallet, simply it means mobile phone with the wallet function. You can make payment through your mobile phone, but not accessing any web site like online shopping. The mobile phone equipped IC-chip is the one you can use as the mobile wallet. At stores, bring your shopped stuff to the resister and tell the casher person for you are paying by the mobile wallet. There is a touch panel around resisters, and touch your mobile phone at the timing of the casher person ask you to do. Then your payment is all completed. Just like IC- cards mainly used for payment for train fees in Japan, touch and go then payment is all done. As you can imagine, you don’t need to find your wallet in your bag, open the wallet, and find bills or coins and count them before payment.

Even if you compare with the credit card, the mobile wallet is much convenience because you don’t need to take out your wallet thus credit card is usually putted in the wallet, and you don’t need to enter the password or give the signature on the bills. On the other hand, the mobile phone might usually at the position that is easily taken out, for example, in the pocket of your pants, or outside pocket of your bad.

You might curious how the mobile phone become a wallet? As we mentioned above, scan the IC-chip built in Smart phone. One thing you need to prepare using the mobile wallet is download the app for payment and set it up.

Osaifu Keitai is the one of the most famous and widespread function for mobile wallet. Smart phone from Android with mobile wallet function, is already installed as a default app. For that reason, many people who are using the mobile wallet with Android smart phone are the user of this Osaifu Keitai app. By the way, the meaning of Osaifu Keitai is, Osaifu means Wallet, and Keitai means Mobile phone. The name of application is exactly the meaning of the function as itself.

This app helps you to make a payment through the mobile wallet much easier and well organize. When you think of you are going to use the mobile wallet, this is the first one you might either check if it is in your smart phone or start downloading.

Download web site for Osaifu Keitai

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.felicanetworks.mfm.main&hl=ja

2 popular app for the mobile wallet

After you check you are ready for the app of Osaifu-Keitai, the next step you want to do is to download and set up the app with payment function. There are various type of payment app, but today, we introduce you 3 major app that is used in Japan,

-nanaco mobile

The nanaco is the payment system from Seven-and-i-holdings which is famous for the convenience stores of Seven-Eleven. It was first started from IC-card, but now you can also use by the smart phone as the mobile wallet. The good thing of using this app at the stores of seven-and-i-holdings groups, and also at the participating stores, is you can earn the shopping point depending on the prices you get shop. The point can be used your future shopping. Moreover, you can get 5% discount as a membership of nanaco on 8th, 18th, and 28th of every months.

To join nanaco, its for free for mobile wallet.

Download nanaco

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.nanaco.android&hl=ja

 

-Rakuten Edy

This is the most popular app for mobile wallet in Japan. The reasons why this is supported by so many people is its usability. This is the no.1 diffusion rate, and you can pay by Rakuten Edy at variety of stores. For example, convenience stores, Matsumoto Kiyoshi which is the famous pharmacy, and Mcdonalds accept the payment from Rakuten Edy. You can also earn the point and use them for your future shopping.

Rakuten Edy is also frre to use.

Download Rakuten Edy

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.edy.edyapp&scid=su_1129

 

Paygilant’s security system with IBM’s technology

As you can see, the mobile wallet is extremely convenience and provide you a simple payment in your daily life. Instead of the convenient life, you might feel anxiety with its security system. What if someone scan your smart phone and steal your money through mobile wallet? No one want to take a risk like that.

For your security, Paygliand introduced the technology for preventing mobile wallet fraud that is developed with IBM. Because the mobile wallet is related to very significant information of the owner, such as the bank information and card number, the security system is the most important tool to developed. The security system introduced from Paygliant, it prevents your mobile phone from stolen identity or device and steal money through the mobile wallet. The system is very smart and automatically recognized who is the owner of the mobile phone. It timely check if there are any unknown payment, and its detection rate is 3 times higher than previous system. Thanks to Paygliant’s security system, you can enjoy your shopping through the mobile wallet without any anxious and stresses.

 

Convenience to use the mobile wallet

The mobile wallet is the compilation of the technology as you can see. It provides us comfortable and convenient life without any risks. Osaifu Keitai is the one you might want to download to organize your use of mobile wallet. We introduced 2 popular apps for the payment through mobile wallets, nanaco and Rakuten Edy. There are more apps for payment used in Japan, so please see which is much to your life.

We hope this article helps you with your mobile wallet startup.

 

Ayumi

Japan