Android Pay continues its international rollout with a launch in Japan today, some six weeks after Apple’s own mobile payment service reached Japanese shores.
Google has partnered with Rakuten to power Android Pay using its Rakuten Edy payment system, which is available at over 470,000 locations in the country, including stores like Family Mart, Lawson, McDonald’s and Dominos. There’s also support for loyalty programs, which include Rakuten’s Super Points initiative.
“You can create a new Edy card in seconds directly in the app, or, if you already have a mobile Rakuten Edy, you can also enable it in Android Pay,” Pali Bhat – global head of payment products at Google writes in a blog post.
“Adding money to your Edy card is quick and easy in Android Pay — you can top up instantly in the app with your credit card, or at any local store that supports Rakuten Edy top-up. To pay, just tap your phone to the eMoney reader and see your balance update. You can also add your plastic loyalty cards for supported points programs like Rakuten Super Points.”
Google said that it plans to work closely with FeliCa Networks, the RFID smart card system started by Sony, to add support for more eMoney services and traditional payment firms including Visa, Mastercard, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and more next year.
„And there’s more to come. In 2017, we plan to continue working with FeliCa Networks to support more eMoney providers and are working with payments companies like The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Visa and Mastercard in many new ways – such as helping you speed through checkout with Android Pay in your favorite apps.”, says Bhat.
Android Pay is available to users in the U.S., UK, Ireland, Poland, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and New Zealand. The mobile wallet app can be downloaded to supported devices that run on Android Kitkat 4.4 or newer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHQUzGAnXSI&width=500&height=350
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
