AirPAY to Begin Handling au PAY on January 30, 2020

With 28 types in total, the service supports the industry's largest number of payment methods.

Recruit Lifestyle announced today that on January 30, 2020, AirPAY, a payment service for stores that accept cards, electronic money, QR codes, and points, will support au PAY, a smartphone payment service using barcodes and QR codes operated by KDDI Corporation.

About AirPAY

Outline and background of the initiative

AirPAY is a payment service for stores that accepts cards, electronic money, QR codes, and points.It requires only a single card reader and either an iPad or iPhone to support payment methods. With the launch of auPAY on January 30, 2020, AirPAY will be able to handle a total of 28 types of payment methods.

The "Cashless Vision" announced by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI)  aims to increase Japan’s cashless ratio from  20% to 40% by 2025, and in the future to 80%, the highest level in the world. In addition, with the launch of the "The Point Reward Project for Consumers using Cashless Payment" in October 2019, the need for cashless payments is increasing for both stores and consumers. AirPAY will contribute to increasing stores’ sales and improve customer convenience by handling the au PAY smartphone payment service.

Recruit will continue to support stores by making it easy to use any means of payment with just one AirPAY and eliminating the inconvenience of cashless payments for both stores and consumers.

The three values that AirPAY provides to stores

1. Supports the industry's largest number of payment methods

With the handling of au PAY, AirPAY now supports 28 types of payment methods.

2. Subsidies for terminal installation and settlement fees

AirPAY is registered as a "cashless merchant support provider (B-type payment provider)" to provide support to stores under the "The Point Reward Project for Consumers using Cashless Payment" launched by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry in October 2019. By introducing AirPAY, you can take advantage of government subsidies.

• Specific subsidies for AirPAY

  • Subsidy for introducing terminals: The "Cashless 0 yen Campaign" provides a dedicated card reader, allowing stores to introduce the service without the burden of additional costs.

• Subsidy for settlement fees

  • During the "The Point Reward Project for Consumers using Cashless Payment" period, the settlement fee, normally 3.24% or 3.74%, will be reduced to 2.16%.

3. Smoothly handle everything from order entry to checkout by linking with AirREGI

You can conveniently complete the checkout process by linking with AirREGI, a free and easy-to-use POS application, and tapping the payment method. There is no need to remember different operation methods for each terminal, reducing potential for error.

What is au PAY?

This is a smartphone payment service that any customer with a smartphone or tablet can use, not just au users. The barcode or QR code displayed on the au WALLET app can be scanned at POS cash registers or other terminals at stores, or the app can read QR codes presented by stores for shopping and payment.

AirPAY will support the "Store Scan (Code Payment)" method.

About AirPAY

AirPAY is a payment service that can use credit cards, electronic money, QR codes, or points. It supports seven major international credit card brands, nine types of nationwide transportation electronic money such as Suica and PASMO, and payment methods like Apple Pay. Clients who wish to accept QR payments can add on AirPAY QR, which supports services like LINE Pay, dPAYMENT, and PayPay, as well as Alipay and WeChat Pay, which are among the largest mobile payment applications in China. Also, AirPAY Point is compatible with three common point services such as T Point, Ponta, and WAON POINT, which means AirPAY supports the industry's largest number of payment methods (28 in total). All of the methods can be used with either an iPad or iPhone and a dedicated card reader.

Click here to read the original press release.