*Merpay, Inc., a fully-owned subsidiary of Mercari, Inc., issued the following press release.
Merpay, Inc. (“Merpay”), LINE Pay Corporation (“LINE Pay”), NTT DOCOMO, INC. (“DOCOMO”), and KDDI Corporation (“KDDI”) have signed a letter of intent for a business alliance to make cashless transactions more widely available. In addition, KDDI has joined the Mobile Payment Alliance (“MoPA”), an alliance of merchant stores. Going forward, the four companies will strive to further popularize cashless payments in Japan.
About the business alliance
Through this business alliance, the four companies will promote the introduction of their mobile payment services, Merpay, LINE Pay, d Barai™, and au PAY to stores and businesses.
Each company plans to make their own app capable of handling QR code scanning and payments for the other partners’ merchant-presented mode (MPM) code payment*1 services. Businesses only need to set up a QR code from any one of the services to begin accepting payments from users of all four, reducing both the burden of implementing a new system and enabling acquisition of many potential new customers. Users will also benefit from being able to use their chosen payment method at more stores*2.
*1 Payment method in which users scan a QR code at the store with their smartphone to pay for their purchase. (scan payment)
*2 Merpay and LINE Pay users will be able to make payments by scanning QR codes issued by any of the other three companies. d Barai™ and au PAY users will be able to read/pay using QR codes from each company.
By bringing the four companies and their large userbases together, the companies expect the alliance to create an even more convenient experience for both consumers and merchants, and also anticipate that this will help accelerate the spread of cashless payment services in Japan.
About the Mobile Payment Alliance (MoPA)
The government is promoting cashless transactions through point rewards programs and more, especially with the upcoming consumption tax rate increase planned for October 2019. On the other hand, the increasing number of businesses entering the mobile payment market has resulted in an overwhelming flood of services. The countless options have resulted in a larger burden and more complexity for merchants, and confused users about which service they should use.
Given this situation, Merpay and LINE Pay formed a business alliance and established the merchant alliance “MoPA” in March 2019, with the objective of providing a more convenient mobile payment experience for both merchants and users. DOCOMO also agreed with the goals and purpose of the alliance and joined in June 2019, further strengthening the organization.
MoPA will continue to expand its partnerships by encouraging other payment service providers supportive of the alliance’s goals and purpose to join.