Top Mobile Payment Service Providers in Japan 2020 and their Reaction to the COVID-19 Crisis

Covid-19 has Accelerated Growth in the Mobile Payments Market in Japan

Growth in the use of mobile payment services observed in Japan during the pandemic

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have increased the use of mobile and contactless payment methods in Japan. According to this recent publication, the number of consumers making mobile phone payments at least once a week increased in May 2020 compared to the final month of 2019. Moreover, contactless payment with a mobile device was a popular transaction method even before the health crisis hit the country.  

Mobile payment services in Japan establish new partnerships to introduce payment support programs, amidst the COVID-19 outbreak

Other interesting facts highlighted in the report include the most used QR code mobile payment services in Japan: PayPay, Rakuten Pay and Line Pay. This report also highlights the features introduced by these mobile apps to support their users to facilitate social distancing and touchless payments. For example, Line Pay partnered with Tokyo Gas to make the payment procedure paperless. Moreover, Rakuten Pay partnered with various food and other businesses to introduce contactless and more convenient payments during the pandemic. 

Report Coverage

• This report covers Japan’s payment market with a focus on the reaction of the top mobile payment service providers to the COVID-19 outbreak. It includes information related to payment methods used, transaction volumes, payment trends and recent COVID-19 related news of the top Mobile PSPs in Japan.
• Our report focuses on the strategies adopted by Japanese Mobile PSPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information related to both remote and in-store payments.
• The data in our reports is mostly published from the previous 12 months. The exact date of publication of the source is stated on each chart. The time period which the data refers to differs by source.  

Report Structure

• The overview chapter opens the report, featuring a summary of the payments market in Japan. The latest trends and developments are summarized on the text charts and data highlights are provided on quantitative charts.
• The rest of the report is divided by the top three mobile PSP’s presented in the descending order of their QR mobile services usage. Within each chapter, there is a company profile, text charts with relevant news and quantitative charts.
• Depending on data availability, the following types of market information are included: value and/or volume of transactions, number of users, payment methods used in-store and online, COVID-19’s impact on the PSPs.
• Not all the mentioned types of information are provided for each of the covered Payment Service Providers due to varying data availability.