eurotechnology.japan.blog

JR-East introduced SuiPo (Suica Poster).

People who want to participate need to register and link their plastic SUICA card, or their mobile SUICA (wallet phone with installed SUICA application) with a registered mobile or PC email address.

Whenever a registered participants touches the SUICA reader/writer on the side of a poster, links to a campaign homepage, coupons, event announcements or other information is sent to the registered PC or mobile phone email address.

The SuiPo system puts interactivity into posters and allows the advertiser to build an opt-in data base of interested people and to interact with them.




More about SUICA: [Download our SUICA report]

Labels: felica, mobile phone, mobile suica, rfid, suica, suipo

This week two of Japan's largest retail chains roll out electronic and mobile cash: Monday April 23rd the Seven & I Holdings Group started "nanaco" and tomorrow, Friday April 27th, 2007, the AEON retail group will start "WAON".

At first sight the massive roll-out of electronic cash and mobile payments systems during March and April this year here in Japan has been smooth and without problems (except for PASMO underestimating the success and running out of cards). However, when we look below the surface, clouds of a competitive storm are brewing. This storm might be followed by consolidation. Here are some examples:

PASMO cards were sold out within the first three weeks, and PASMO is now losing market share (and commission payments) to SUICA day-by-day - PASMO became a victim of it's own success.

7-11's "nanaco" offers twice as much discount as AEON Group's "WAON". Clearly "nanaco" is on a more aggressive course than "WAON". We expect competition to heat up.






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Labels: e-cash, ecash, m-cash, mcash, mobile payment, nanaco, pasmo, seven eleven, suica, wallet-phone, walletphone, waon

On Sunday, March 18, 2007, about 100 transportation companies in the Tokyo region switched to the near-field electronic money and payment system PASMO. Electronic money is a new battle field which JR-East pioneered with SUICA. 7 & I is still to throw it's weight into the battle - read about today's status of the electronic money marketplace in our "Mobile Payment and Keitai Credit" report.


A new multi-billion dollar power? Here is the character for PASMO: with an antenna on the hat, a pocket on the chest to store PASMO away, and wheels on the shoes, and in cherry-blossom pink... Does this cherry-blossom-pink guy look like he represents a new US$ multi-billion economic power?





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Labels: ecash, electronic money, mobile payment, nanaco, nfc, pasmo, rfid, suica, tokyo

CLSA - Asia-Pacific Markets - last week organized the "CLSA Japan Forum" here in Tokyo. About 800-1000 investment bankers, portfolio managers, investors, analysts came together. Since last year interest of global investors in Japan has increased a lot.

Eurotechnology Japan KK participated actively, and on Friday March 2, 2007, gave a presentation on:

"Impact of mobile payment and the future of money"

The presentation covers the following agenda:
- Can e-money and mobile payment replace cash?
- Example: mobile payment for the world's busiest train line
- DoCoMo's target for mobile payments
- Japan's mobile payment and keitai credit landscape
- Free markets vs regulation
- Mifare and Felica chips and radio communications (NFC)
- Who drives mobile payments
- Growth of SUICA
- DoCoMo's mobile payment and keitai credit strategy
- Edy - electronic cash
- A major bank's mobile payment system
- Impact
- Where to invest - who to watch
- Summary

"Impact of mobile payment and the future of money" (download here)

"Mobile payment and keitai credit (download here)


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Labels: docomo, edy, felica, mobile payment, suica, walletphone

Every year Nikkei Marketing Journal publishes a ranking list of the most successful products of the past year in the form Sumo wrestling results are traditionally displayed: there is a Western side and an Eastern side, winners at the top are displayed in much larger print than also rans at the bottom.

IC tickets are the "Ooseki" (second place) winners on the Eastern side of the Sumo ranking of hit products for 2006.

On March 18, 2007, more than 100 transportation companies of the Tokyo region including 25 train operators which serve a population of around 30 million will introduce PASMO IC-Tickets. Introduction of PASMO will increase market share for IC-tickets and ecash in Japan - and globally.

Read more in the latest edition of our
Suica and IC-Ticket report.

Labels: ecash, felica, ic-ticket, mifare, nfc, pasmo, rfid, suica

On March 18, 2007, more than 100 transportation companies (26 railway companies and 75 bus companies) - moving 30 million people of the Tokyo region - will switch to the IC card ticketing and e-cash system named "PASMO". PASMO will interoperate and partially compete with SUICA.

Preparations go back more than 20 years, when Japan's national railways started research on IC cards for ticketing. SUICA IC-card tickets were introduced commercially in November 2001 at 424 JR-EAST rail stations in the Tokyo region.

Tokyo's PASMO is likely to develop into one of the world's biggest electronic payment and e-cash systems.

Labels: felica, ic-ticket, nfc, pasmo, rfid, suica, wallet phone

Paying with the mobile phone in shops and trains, unlocking doors, security check in offices, paying the air ticket and checking in, all just by waving the wallet phone close to a reader/writer unit is addictive - and daily life in Japan today.

SUICA in Tokyo, Octopus in Hong Kong and Oyster in London are great success stories but they use different and incompatible technologies and software.

For mobile payments to take off globally, global interoperability is a must.

NXP (Philips' former semiconductor division) and SONY on November 20, 2006 announced a cooperation, which will bring global interoperability to wallet phones and mobile payment.

Labels: felica, interoperability, mifare, oyster, suica