Some Japanese regions are introducing credit card touch payment methods such as VISA and Mastercard instead of existing transportation cards such as Suica or PASMO. The move is aimed at reducing the cost of issuing transportation cards and operating the system.
Some Japanese cities in the Kansai region have started to use Visa or MasterCard for touch payments at subway turnstiles, according to Yahoo Japan and other foreign media outlets on Tuesday. Kumamoto Prefecture near Fukuoka stopped using transportation cards in November last year and introduced a credit card touch payment method. Hiroshima Prefecture also introduced a credit card payment method starting in March.
Credit card touch payment methods are spreading beyond the Kansai region to the Kanto region, where Tokyo and others are located. Tokyo-run Asakusa Line, Mita Line, Oedo Line, and 10 stations began experiments in December last year to introduce credit card touch payment methods.
Since Suica’s debut in 2001, transportation cards have become a major payment method on Japanese public transportation. Since the service introduced a feature that allows users to pay with a touch at the ticket gate and with a transportation card at convenience stores and vending machines, the service is now also used as electronic money. So far, more than 200 million transportation cards have been issued.
Analysts say that the introduction of the credit card touch payment method by Japanese transportation companies is due to the impact of COVID-19. After COVID-19, the number of subway and bus passengers decreased, and transportation companies had to reduce the cost of system maintenance and renewal. This cost came as a greater burden for local transportation companies with relatively fewer passengers than in large cities.
The main reason for introducing the credit card touch payment method is that more tourists have difficulty purchasing and using transportation cards in a situation where tourism demand is increasing. First, you have to purchase a transportation card there and then charge the amount in advance, but it is difficult for tourists who are unfamiliar with Japan.
The advantage of transportation cards over credit cards is that they can make fast payments. Credit card touch payments take about 0.25 to 0.35 seconds, but transportation cards such as Suica take 0.2 seconds. Unlike credit cards, it also has the advantage of being able to use the regular ticket function and having less risk in case of loss than credit cards. In this regard, it is said that large cities such as Tokyo, which have a large number of users and complexity, still prefer transportation cards.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
