NTT DOCOMO is joining forces with the LINE Pay Corporation and Merpay, Inc. in an effort to promote cashless transactions in Japan. The three companies respectively operate the d Barai, LINE Pay, and Merpay mobile payment platforms, and will each redesign their apps to allow them to recognize QR codes and payments from the other two.
The upshot is that a merchant that accepts any one of the three payment schemes will automatically be able to accept payments from all three, giving customers more flexibility and allowing them to use their preferred payment scheme at a larger number of stores.
By consolidating their platforms, the three companies are hoping to make mobile payments more appealing and accelerate widespread adoption. The alliance will help merchants because it eliminates the cost of setting up multiple payment systems. For consumers, it gets rid of the confusion of figuring out which platform is accepted where, making mobile payments less intimidating in an environment flooded with competitors.
The three companies, meanwhile, believe the added convenience will help attract new customers. NTT DOCOMO will also be joining the Mobile Payment Alliance (MoPA), a merchant alliance that was first announced by LINE Pay and Merpay in March of 2019 to further promote cashless transactions.
NTT DOCOMO’s d Barai platform was launched back in 2018. The mobile operator has since been laying the groundwork for 5G, conducting facial recognition and 8K video trials in collaboration with NEC.
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