Payment method in Japan

During our visit of IBM Banking Centre, we could learn a lot from the latest technology and business solutions for banks. In near future, sooner than you think, you will be able to use your finger to withdraw money from ATM :>

The payment system and technology used really depends on background and needs of each country. In Japan, biometric technology has been implemented for ATM since 2004. However, the penetration rate is still about 3% in 2008, Financial Services Agency said. The two reasons given by the agency were:

1. Not many ATM can accept biometric card

2. People might feel lazy to change their ATM cards to biometric cards.


The problem is that the importance of security of ATM card is not recognized by people.

Actually, Japan is still a cash-based society and credit cards are not widely used.
According to survey conducted by JCB(Japan Credit Bureau) in 2007, 84.9% of people (the age range from 20 to 60 years old) hold credit cards in Japan. The average number of credit card usage per month is only 4.5 times. 40% of them answered that they use credit cards "for emergency purposes" only.


For other payment methods such as cheque, it is almost impossible for individuals to use personal cheques in Japan due to strict checking. You may need to use bank cheque if you really need to issue the cheque.

So, what is a more popular payment method in Japan now? The handphone.

The Japanese use handphone more than just for communication purpose but they use it as a mode of payment.

You can look at the TV commercial below and see how payments are settled at a cashier just by flashing your handphone.


Mobile Wallet
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=LeNZ344AAws

What if you lost your hand phone? No worries. Japanese handphone has biometric authentication feature.

It might be interesting if you can do some research on different payment methods in other countries.

Posted by Ms.Nami