Line makes a big new push to turn Japan cashless

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Photo credit: Line

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It’s not so much a cash register as a cashless register.

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This week, messaging app Line is rolling out a little gadget for stores that it hopes will make Japan cashless – and accelerate uptake of its Line Pay wallet app. It’s designed as a cheap and easy way for small stores across Japan to accept cashless payments. Shoppers scan a QR code on the gizmo to pay via Line Pay. This is what you’ll see on its little screen:

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GIF by Tech in Asia, using photos from Line

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The cutesy point-of-sale gadget comes with zero terminal use fees for the first six months plus zero transaction fees until July 2021 – provided stores opt-in by the end of the year, said Line. After that, a 2.45 percent fee on each checkout comes into effect.

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The move comes as Japan pushes to hike its cashless payment ratio to 40 percent by 2025 – up from 20 percent in 2016. That includes bank and debit cards, wallet apps, as well as the popular Suica card, which can be used to pay for store purchases and transportation fare.

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Japan is far behind many countries in ditching notes and coins. For example, the cashless payment rate in South Korea and China is at 89 percent and 60 percent, respectively.

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Line has 164 million users each month in its four biggest markets (Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia), down from 169 million a year ago. But the social network is on the rise in its native Japan, going from 70 million to 76 million in the past 12 months.

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Line Pay has processed a record US$3.3 billion in payments – across Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan – so far this year, according to the firm’s own data.