Surely those of you who have visited Japan will know that many shops only accept cash. However, the situation has changed a lot after the campaign carried out by the Japanese government to promote mobile payments, also known as cashless .
And it is that at the same time that Japan launched the increase in the consumption tax from 8% to 10%, on October 1, 2019, a campaign was also launched to encourage consumers to use the famous cashless payment. In doing so, they would benefit from a percentage return of the total purchase in points, which can then be spent as if it were money.
Cashless payment methods in Japan.
I don’t know exactly the number of mobile payment applications that there will be in Japan right now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more than 50. But I’m going to focus on a list of the payment methods that you will surely see more in stores over the years. Length and width of Japan:
To be able to use these applications on ブランドコスメ you must install them on your mobile phone and associate them with your credit card or load it with money through your bank account or in a 24-hour store such as Lawson, 7 Eleven or Family Mart – the famous Japanese konbini -.
- Rakuten credit card
- It is the payment method that I use in 80% of cases, whether for internet payments, recurring payments of gas bills, electricity, etc. or for restaurants or supermarkets. And it is that the Rakuten credit card always offers a 1% return of the total of your purchases in Rakuten Super Points to be used within the company’s vast ecosystem of services.
- PayPal
- After the credit card, it is probably the second payment method that I use the most. Especially in those places where card use is not allowed. As I mentioned before, until January or February of this 2020, I could only buy in my favorite bakery paying in cash, until they enabled the use of PayPay as a cashless
What can I tell you about PayPay? It was undoubtedly one of the applications that entered the Japanese market more aggressively back in October 2018, with promotions of between 20%-50% refund of your purchases on your wallet card. To this day, クリスチャン ディオール .
- Continues to do very good promotions as his business enters new companies, such as this 20% return when consuming in the popular family restaurant Jonathans (belonging to April 2020).
- MerPay
- MerPay is the payment method of the popular purchase / sale application between individuals Mercari, which I use to sell things that I no longer need and buy others second-hand at a good price and in very good condition.
- The good thing about this app is that you can use your sales balance on Mercari. I usually use it in places where they have good promotions. They also usually take out many coupons for 24-hour stores, but they have also started with limited-time promotions of refunds of 10%-20% of the total amount of the purchase in stores such as supermarkets or shoe stores.
- R Pay (Rakuten Pay)
- R Pay is the payment method of the popular Japanese e-commerce giant, Rakuten. You can associate it with your credit card or use the Rakuten Super Points from your account (if you are part of this famous points ecosystem). I use it to pay at konbinisor stores associated with the Rakuten ecosystem, such as McDonalds (very occasionally) or Mister Donuts.