Aging Japan struggling with slow adoption of cashless payments

Why should I change to cashless payments when using cash takes less time to process?

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Why should I change to cashless payments when using cash takes less time to process?

Because Japan want to show to the world it's cool.

Those system to setup cashless will cost business owner some fraction of their revenue. While in Japan many business already really have tight margin.

https://squareup.com/jp/ja/payments/our-fees

https://faq.airpayment.jp/hc/ja/articles/218985588-%E6%B1%BA%E6%B8%88%E6%89%8B%E6%95%B0%E6%96%99-%E6%8C%AF%E8%BE%BC%E6%89%8B%E6%95%B0%E6%96%99

Cashless systems add 2 to 4% to the bill, which is passed on to the consumer. And its paid on top of Japan's 10% consumption tax (so a fee for paying tax).

When a business is cash only, they can sell for less. There is a large chain drug store & grocery called Cosmos that is cash only, and is reliably cheaper for practically everything they sell compared to other similar stores.

And unlike other countries, a business can not add a fee if paying cashless, but they can potentially give a discount for cash (but the listed price must be the full price).

Oh, and despite how they only promote the "convenience and security" for cashless, cash is still for the most part untraceable and potentially un-taxable... hence why the government truly wants to stop it.

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people have to go through a lot of work these days to buy something.

online is even worse. make an account, give us your email so we can send you junk mail, verify the account, give us your credit card number and maybe we'll keep it secure, read our terms of service (we're not responsible for anything) and good luck trying to contact us when we screw something up.

oh, and we care about you...

Why should I change to cashless payments when using cash takes less time to process?

I pay everything cashless, and I can see it in my banking app instantly.

quote: the country has introduced a digital payment system specifically designed for the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems with digital payment systems, is that there are so many different ones, all incompatible with each other.

It's like messaging apps or Linux. Each new one adds cost, complexity, and the likelihood of it not being an option or not working. One common standard would make life easier for everyone.

The debit card use for Japan is really low, perhaps because Japanese people use credit cards in the way that the RotW use debit cards.

Personally, I prefer cash or Suica in Japan as a tourist. Bank cards are now a poor option as newly introduced MFA systems aren't great across borders. Digital (as opposed to card-based) systems may be Japanese only.

QR code payment systems are extremely easy to hack with a paste-over sticker and should simply be avoided.

And always, always carry cash. Wherever you are. Enough to buy your shopping and get you home. Especially in a country with quakes and/or telco outages.

Why should I change to cashless payments when using cash takes less time to process?

Have you ever stood in line at a convenience store, Matsuya, etc. and the person at the front fumbled with their wallet or inserted 100 yen coins one at a time? PayPay takes less than three seconds.

Who cares, let them use cash. I only use card for most things because I want to collect frequent flyer miles. I'd hate to see Japan go down the road of other countries where the staff give you dirty looks for paying by cash. In Australia I experienced shops that wouldn't take cash - not sure if this is for security or if Gen Z shop staff can't count.

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Japan struggling? How about "Japan showing wisdom?" Every time Japan doesn't fall in line with the latest poorly-thought-out trend, they are called out for being behind. Maybe they are being smart.

Given the proliferation of scams that prey on elderly I don't blame them for wanting to keep everything rudimentary - and disconnected from their mobile phones.

I don't want to use those stupid apps. Cash is just fine.

A fully cashless society will never arrive in a country like Japan where natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons are frequent. You cannot pay cashless when there’s no power. A bit of a surprise to know that cashless payment ratios in the Uk and the U.S. are 65.1 % and 53.2% respectively. People don’t want their governments and big businesses to trace their daily purchases.

When someone don't understand what they are reading you can't blame them for not signing up, butter safe than sorry.

Cash is fine for them and cash will always be king for them I guess, plus the fact that so many shop accept cash only, so we can't just blame the elderly.

Peter NeilToday  07:38 am JST

spot on Peter. I especially love the last line! (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡

The one thing to ponder when all your money is in the bank is this...... you don't actually have a penny and the bank only has a digital quark that represents your money. I keep enough "walking around money" in a debit card account to enjoy the day to day convenience of that card. If you have all your money in a bank, you don't really have any money if the SHTF.

In Australia I experienced shops that wouldn't take cash - not sure if this is for security or if Gen Z shop staff can't count.

Probably the latter;)

I pay everything cashless, and I can see it in my banking app instantly

When I pay cash I can see it gone from my wallet instantly too.

I pay everything cashless, and I can see it in my banking app instantly

When I pay cash I can see it gone from my wallet instantly too.

Huh? What does that have to do with me having been replying to this:

Why should I change to cashless payments when using cash takes less time to process?

And SK doesn’t have an aging society? It’s not the elderly, it’s the government’s fault.

From what I see, it’s mostly younger people holding up the lines opening apps on their phone and then the clerk having to scan their phones multiple times.

The only cashless payment method in Japan that is actually quick is credit/ debit card payments… and don’t start commenting that debit card payments are not accepted in most places. They are unless there is a sign that says cash only.

Age has NOTHING to do with it, it's a matter of choice.

I pay everything cashless, and I can see it in my banking app instantly.

Abroad I use cards a lot more but in Japan 99% is cash.

And I can see by the thinness of my wallet when it’s time to start eating instant ramen.

It's like messaging apps or Linux. Each new one adds cost, complexity, and the likelihood of it not being an option or not working. One common standard would make life easier for everyone.

You lost me on the adding cost part, but give your average person Windows 11, or Mint Linux and put a shortcut to Chrome or Edge or Firefox or brave or your Browser of choice on the desktop and I guarantee you they wouldn't notice the difference in daily usage.

Of the big three, Mac OS is arguably more difficult to use anyway. But having a choice is always a good thing, including having the right to pay by cash or not.

I pay everything cashless, and I can see it in my banking app instantly.

Abroad I use cards a lot more but in Japan 99% is cash.

Me too. But I was pointing out that cashless payments do not take longer to process:

Why should I change to cashless payments when using cash takes less time to process?

Cash is most useful. Give cash, get change, leave.

Also, why should I be forced to carry around a mobile device everywhere I go?

I don’t want to spend hours downloading apps or adding my personal details to multiple sites.

Cash is far easier and convenient.

Is there some kind of pride associated with a higher percentage of e-money users? I think a country with a well balanced use of both cash and card payments is healthier.

Cash is far easier and convenient.

I'd argue pulling out my phone and tapping it is much easier and convenient than counting out money either direction.

It's definitely much, much faster.

No apps by the way, Apple Pay for everything for me. Goes right to my credit card.

You can be robbed too using wire transfers,once the money is wired,it belongs to the recipient,lots of big banks in the US are fighting people that wired money to scammers Google American Banks Wire Scammers

There's a few reasons I would accept in favor of cash. Speed is not one of them.

That depends. If you know which method of payment works in a particular shop and happen to have the correct app all set up on your phone with money on it, and the shop has good cellular reception, then sure. But then setting up dozens of payment apps can be a omplete and utter nightmare in the first place. (Looking at YOU Paypay. Still havent figured out why the damned thing won't take my name in Katakana. Something to do with zengaku/hangaku).

Once it things have been set up, things can be slightly faster, but often you still have to figure out which button to push on new automated terminals, which differ slightly from store to store anyway. Then you're out of luck if there is some kind of outage (which happens here more often than you might think).

sakurasukiToday  07:19 am JST

Why should I change to cashless payments when using cash takes less time to process?

Because Japan want to show to the world it's cool.

No, the Japanese govt want cashless payments to they can collect more tax revenue. And its not only Japan heading this way. Cashless payments is just 1 step closer to the governments watching every move we make.

No, the Japanese govt want cashless payments to they can collect more tax revenue. And its not only Japan heading this way. Cashless payments is just 1 step closer to the governments watching every move we make.

Well, that's an argument for anonymous cryptocurrencies, which you may have noticed, are cashless.

Why should I change to cashless payments when using cash takes less time to process?

Because government and businesses who want money from you are demanding it. It's hard on the less tech savvy older folk, but the pressure is relentless and growing while resistance from the public weakens as the older generations die off.

You pay a surcharge for cashless transactions,I bought a gift card and loaded cash on it, because I only had a 100 dollars bill and stores do usually have cash for change early in the morning

You pay a surcharge for cashless transactions

I don't.

I am going to the Eagles v Hawks ball game at Rakuten Miyagi stadium tomorrow night and it a cashless stadium and only excepts Rakuten Edy cards or iPhone installed R Edy credit. So I went down to 7 &Iholding and purchase a card and charge it with 10,000 yen. It is not a a reusable card nor can I recharge it at Rakuten Edy digital kiosk which are station around inside the ball park. The card is a price designation type 9cm x 12cm and I still don't know if it will be excepted inside the stadium. Has anyone here use the same card in Rakuten Miyagi stadium.?

@Strangerland You don't have to count money, the self-register does it for you!

There is a supermarket chain I go to that has an amazing selection. Top notch bentos, meat, fish, produce, etc., for amazing prices. This place is CASH only. By shielding themselves from charges that come with people using credit cards, this place I went to is able to pass on the savings to its shoppers. Other places should follow suit.

I absolutely hate using apps to pay for things. I tend to use my credit card for most things, and cash for the rest. I see no reason to aspire to cashless society at all. It is being thrust upon us and nobody asked for it. Awful, awful, awful.

What surprises me at the convenience store is that you can pay by card for most things but when you want to pay your ward tax, sorry, that is cash only. The store manager was telling me that even they were confused by it.

I am totally comfortable with Japan being slow to move towards cashless.

What worries me is other countries ditching cash for cashless without taking into account the consequences of doing so.

With cashless you are not only imposing a cost on every transaction that will ultimately be passed onto you as the consumer, you are also giving financial institutions reams of data about you that they would not have if you used cash. What you buy, where you were when you bought it, what time of the day you bought it, how often you buy it, etc etc. It just another part of the surveillance economy.

No thanks. I use cash for about 90% of my purchases and don't intend to change that.

Also, I'm not old. Despite the headline, concerns about cashless have little to do with "aging" people not getting it.

With cashless you are not only imposing a cost on every transaction that will ultimately be passed onto you as the consumer, you are also giving financial institutions reams of data about you that they would not have if you used cash. What you buy, where you were when you bought it, what time of the day you bought it, how often you buy it, etc etc. It just another part of the surveillance economy.

This is actually the first post against cashlessness I've agreed with.

Although to be fair, I'm a sellout, because I went cashless because my credit card gives me a percentage back of any money I spend, so they actually pay me out.

Do you think Putin should nuke Russia/Kursk?

The debit card use for Japan is really low, perhaps because Japanese people use credit cards in the way that the RotW use debit cards.

I do like the rewards benefits of using credit cards here, but they are cleverly designed to keep you using the same platform otherwise the benefits will dial down. Rakuten card is arguably the most popular one here with the ease of applying, rewards just for applying, limit is set pretty high, and the amount of points you can obtain when shopping specifically Rakuten.

I personally use debit cards though as I do not trust myself with credit cards. Luckily Sumitomo offers a new debit card that can build V points which comes in handy when shopping so I'm not missing out on the benefits of credit cards. You can also turn your V points into cash 1:1 so it also acts as a cash-back system.

Cashless payments are more expensive and your data is sold to a third party, usually to your detriment.

Eat a lot of fast food or have the occasional drink or smoke. Your insurance premiuns increase as they now have you in a higher risk category.

Like to travel and see other cultures in the world or see family overseas.

Sold on to carbon offset developers to make sure costs are prohibitive for most, Including you.

Cash is simple, protects your privacy and doesn't incurr a surcharge making greedy banks even higher profits to buy things.

Cash is Emperor.

Also, why should I be forced to carry around a mobile device everywhere I go?

I don’t want to spend hours downloading apps or adding my personal details to multiple sites.

Cash is far easier and convenient.

It is a personal choice so there is no right or wrong but cash is far easier and convenient just makes me laugh.

Over the weekend my wife and I went shopping. She usually needs to carry a few items when going out. Also her wallet is too big to fit in her back pocket so my wife always has a handbag and I usually carry her bag. She went inside a shop, found an item she liked, went to the counter to pay for it. Did she need to ask me to hand her the handbag so she could open it, then took out the wallet, opened the wallet, found the cash, handed the cash to the staff, waited for the change, counted change, put the cash back in her wallet?

Nope. She pulled her mobile phone from her pocket. Turned it on and put the phone over the scanner. Done in less than 15 seconds.

You sucks at doing something does not mean it is crap.

technophobe

Noun

a person who fears, dislikes, or avoids new technology.

People were afraid of cash when it first came around. People were also afraid of checks when they first came around. Then people were afraid of credit cards. It would be strange if there weren't people who were afraid of any new method of payment.

The only reason I still carry cash in my wallet is because if the seller do not accept cashless payments or the system is down I can still pay.

The title of the article is very misleading. It's not that the elderly are necessarily "struggling", as in with the technology (though that IS true for many elderly) but more it's the reluctance to "get on board".

Cash is King.

Yes, I do use the plastic for some online shopping. But I prefer cash. I do NOT use any apps for payments. Data privacy is important. MYOB.

To each his own!

technophobe

Noun

a person who fears, dislikes, or avoids new technology.

If a new technology is harmful to your interests then its rational to dislike it. Calling people technophobes, Luddites, etc for objecting to these things isn't an actual argument.

The benefits of cashless are incredibly trivial compared to the downside that goes with it. At best it saves you a few seconds of fishing for bills or coins at the cashier each time you shop and doesn't require you to stop at the ATM.

In exchange for that you are basically increasing the cost of every transaction by a couple of percent, you are giving financial institutions the ability to track you and gather reams of data on you which they will sell, and you (along with everyone else going cashless) are drastically increasing the control those financial institutions have over the entire economy as they are now the effective gatekeeper for every single transaction that occurs in it. Piss the banks off? If you are a retailer and they cut you out, they can basically destroy your business. If you are a consumer and they cut you off good luck trying to buy food and clothing in an economy that no longer accepts cash.

The degree of control being given to these institutions in countries that are going cashless is truly disturbing and I think societies are more or less sleepwalking into a situation in which we lose a huge degree of control over our daily lives because.....paying with bills and coins is somehow too much of a burden?

Cash in the daily life. Credit card for online but if I'm unsure of the seller COD.

Data: They don't except Mastercard/visa inside the stadium. Because I would use my visa or MasterCard instead the last time I was there 2019 . I used a Rakuten prepaid cash card with a chip, like Visa. The card I got from 7&Iholding this time is a chip-less 9cm x 12cm card I have charge with Y10,000 and then I had to register the pin on the Rakuten site. Anyway I can use it elsewhere if they do except it.

@rainyday

First I only stated there is something called technophe. I apologise if I offended anyone.

So may I ask those who says using cashless payments violates your privacy, do you use a smartphone? I saw quite a few people still using those old flip phones when I was in Japan.

First I only stated there is something called technophe. I apologise if I offended anyone.

Its not offensive. My objection is that the existence of a noun called "technophobe" is a meaningless observation.

So may I ask those who says using cashless payments violates your privacy, do you use a smartphone? I saw quite a few people still using those old flip phones when I was in Japan.

I use a flip phone.

The fact that smart phones are massively invasive of your privacy, if anything, is another argument against cashless since you are basically just allowing the device to gobble up even more of your personal information by using it for that purpose.

remember in the 90's when the internet was ramping up?

Japanese companies would mail you product and inside the box was an invoice/pay sheet that you took to the post office and paid the bill. only in japan...

back in the days when you asked someone for the name of a site and the reply was, "http://wwwdotto..."

:)

"Aging Japan struggling with slow adoption of cashless payments."

If the highest population are senior citizens, then it's logical to fit payments mode with the population, and cash it seems is easier for them to use.

Those system to setup cashless will cost business owner some fraction of their revenue. While in Japan many business already really have tight margin.

LOL, What are you trying to say? The fee for cashless payment for the store is between 0.3- 0.5% on the purchases. For cash it is zero. ??????

If the highest population are senior citizens, then it's logical to fit payments mode with the population, and cash it seems is easier for them to use.

A well reasoned post.

Japan is cash country.

as someone wrote above there is one store near our place where we are buying all of necessary food etc.that shop accepts cash only.so no extra fees for some card systems etc.

old generations of japanese are cash generation.

Hans and others

have you ever stood in-line while the other much-smarter phoners in front of you struggled around finding the correct QRs (especially on discount days) whist stood there with tried and proven visa or debit cards at the ready for a 3second clearance? Wo and behold, u can return home open lap top and see every transaction. Yep, when I travel to the north of HK or to Jpn, I carry cash. Check costs, rough total in cash, delaying the Q so the smarter phone users can get the gdgets on-lin. BTW, in this environmental age how much energy are S.P.U.s etc burning up firing their 3secs data messages about. Answers on a reliable postcard pls

midwicketToday  09:41 am JST

What surprises me at the convenience store is that you can pay by card for most things but when you want to pay your ward tax, sorry, that is cash only. The store manager was telling me that even they were confused by it.

This has an easy explanation: you cannot pay tax by accumulating more debt (credit card is debt until it is paid). It’s the same in many cashless countries as well, but there you can pay by debit card..

Great. Cash is king. When you travel outside of Tokyo and JR bus won’t take a Suica payment and only exact cash, it’s hard to tell who is holding up who. Cash is less traceable and anonymous. Who needs to tell anyone what you are doing with your money? In emergencies, when the net is down, in a disaster, cash will be what you need. In addition going cashless is a form of cultural vandalism in that all the cultural symbols and emblems that are on the cash of your currency are no longer seen when you use cashless payments and you begin to think that PayPay is a currency. It’s not. Use cash where you can. Don’t give away personal details unnecessarily. If you don’t like giving away your data, you could also fill up your Suica and then swap with someone else; any age or sex related data given them might then be irrelevant. Just an idea I heard from someone

If your budget for shoes is 10,000 yen and you go shopping with only cash, you will stick within your budget, if you use a card, you will end up spending 12,000 for a pair of shoes.

Cash is best and nobody needs to track how many beer I buy or where I travel to.

You can use those cards to purchase the R Edy card to use inside. No vender will except anything but a R Edy card. You can go to the R Edy digital kiosk that are station around inside the stadium and use your visa/Mastercard to charge or recharge your Rakuten R Edy card but you can not use visa/MasterCard to purchase foods, drinks, baseball caps etc. So this is a cashless problem even for people who think they are in the know. E.G you Data.

If your budget for shoes is 10,000 yen and you go shopping with only cash, you will stick within your budget, if you use a card, you will end up spending 12,000 for a pair of shoes.

Financially irresponsible people maybe.

The problem goes much deeper than cashless payments. Anybody who has tried to register a car knows how complicated and time consuming such a simple thing can be.

The government just wants to trace your payments for tax purposes that's all.

I like cash I don't want the government knowing my ins and outs it's not their business.

Keep the prying malevolent government out !

proxy

If your budget for shoes is 10,000 yen and you go shopping with only cash, you will stick within your budget, if you use a card, you will end up spending 12,000 for a pair of shoes.

> Cash is best and nobody needs to track how many beer I buy or where I travel to.

I buy all my shoes online and works well for me. If slightly tight I use a shoe stretcher for a perfect fit. Your phone is recording your travels.

Financially irresponsible people maybe.

I don' think this is fair. it actually is much easier to keep track of how much you spend and stick to a regular budget if you use cash simply because the cash in your wallet acts as a natural reminder.

Its not a major point, but its still a disadvantage of cashless. Physically handing over bills is a much stronger signal to the human brain that you are saying goodbye to money than swiping a card is.

Financially irresponsible people maybe.

I don' think this is fair

I do. If you spend more than you can afford, it's financially irresponsible.

I do. If you spend more than you can afford, it's financially irresponsible.

Spending more than you otherwise would doesn't necessarily mean spending more than you can afford.

That aside though, the main point is that using cash is a better system for avoiding that type of financial irresponsibility because it makes it easier for people to stick to budgets and be aware of how much they are spending. While of course its possible for people to keep track of what they spend using cashless too, its actually more of a hassle since your brain isn't getting the same type of automatic feedback it gets when you use cash.

When I'm in Japan using cash I'm always aware of what I'm spending. When I travel overseas and rely on my credit card, I constantly lose track and only get reminded of how much I've overshot my budget when the bill gets deducted from my account at the end of the month.

Age is not really a problem. My 75 year old mum uses her "tap and go" credit card to do all her shoppings. She actually struggles with cash cause she can no longer count properly.

I would like to share something interesting. Some time ago I read an news article about some young Australian are doing almost their banking transactions online or using cash payments but are still going to the ATM to get cash. The reason is they need the cash to buy illegal drugs. Therefore Australia will never become a careless society. LOL.

Also some young people are switching back to cash cause they have no self control on using their credit cards. That is the only way they can manage their spending.

It is not. Many people, including yourself, often overlook the fact that handling cash also comes with costs.

Handling cash takes longer time and extra manpower so shops, especially supermarkets would need to employ more staff. Unless they install self serve check out machines that allows cash payment. I do not think supermarkets are kind enough to not put the extra cost on their customers.

(I) turn around my backpack (II) take out my mobile (III) unlock it (IV) scroll for app (V) scan (VI) put back my my mobile (VII) zip my backpack, wow, what a advance technology of cashless transaction. sorry the last thing on earth i will do is cashless, cash is king! (I) take out my cash (II) pay (III) leave. Thank you Japan for still using the cash and your banknotes is such an art, it is a shame if we left behind such a delicate and neat banknotes

Using cash means there are no extra charges. While using digital requires some fees somewhere along the chain,, which eventually get pushed onto the customer. Not to mentioned the hassle of”downloading” apps. Using cards to recharge an app. When I have cash I can physically see what I have. The money makers are laughing all the way to the bank as customers don’t get time to stop and think and the quicker it is, the more likely your gonna go for the “impulse “ purchase. Not to mention that psychological “beep” that triggers you.

cash, cash cash, means I have more control, more mindfulness about what I actually hand over. Look after the Pennie’s and the pounds will look after themselves. Those cans from the 100 yen shop have helped me save “millions” of yen.

(I) turn around my backpack (II) take out my mobile (III) unlock it (IV) scroll for app (V) scan (VI) put back my my mobile (VII) zip my backpack, wow, what a advance technology of cashless transaction. sorry the last thing on earth i will do is cashless, cash is king! (I) take out my cash (II) pay (III) leave. Thank you Japan for still using the cash and your banknotes is such an art, it is a shame if we left behind such a delicate and neat banknotes

There is "tap and go" credit card or cash card which U can easily pull out from your wallet and you do not need to count.

delicate and neat banknotes

After changing hands 100 times, are they still delicate and neat.

yoshisan88Today  11:43 am JST

Age is not really a problem. My 75 year old mum uses her "tap and go" credit card to do all her shoppings. She actually struggles with cash cause she can no longer count properly.

and that’s exactly what the financial psychologists understand. Credit cards are fast, easy and reduce the thought process. The CC companies aren’t interested in the average cc user. It’s the ones who have problems controlling CC. That’s why cash is soooo important for a sub group of people. They want to increase the loss of financial control and speed up those transactions. Stick with cash! You will thank yourself in 30 years time. People always say I’ll save what’s at the end of the month, but that’s so hard when you’re cashless. Pay yourself first, then go for cash.

gotta save your cash to pay the minimum payment on the card until you get the limit raised.

ooooh, look! a shiny new thing at costco.

In a aging society, where it is safe to carry legal tender, cash is king, and long may cash rule reign supreme.

Do we all really have to bow to plastic ayatollah, the cult of cashless, the high priests of the phone banking app?

The state clandestine means to track our private purchases. The Data Dictators?

Not on your chinny chin chin.

Come to Japan your cash is still welcome.

StrangerlandToday  07:45 am JST

Why should I change to cashless payments when using cash takes less time to process?

I pay everything cashless, and I can see it in my banking app instantly.

I think You maybe missing the physical relationship between the cognitive part and the tactile part or money. The sizes and numbers are important on the notes in your wallet.Just seeing one number on an accountant isn’t the same.we can open our wallet and see instantly what’s in the wallet, not what’s in the bank forcing a better sense of control, budgeting, and choices. Now , psychologically it’s goes like this, should I go for the grand Starbucks, the large Starbucks, or the small Starbucks. Based on my wallet? Or based on all the money in the bank account ? Generally the research shows we make better personal financial decisions based on our physical interaction. And spend more as we use more cashless speedy options.

Credit cards are not credit. It’s debt!!!!

. They want to increase the loss of financial control and speed up those transactions. Stick with cash! You will thank yourself in 30 years time. People always say I’ll save what’s at the end of the month, but that’s so hard when you’re cashless. Pay yourself first, then go for cash.

Thanks for your kind advice. I have very high self control on spending. Not long ago I used my savings to buy a brand new car so using cashless payments is no problem to me.

(I) turn around my backpack (II) take out my mobile (III) unlock it (IV) scroll for app (V) scan (VI) put back my my mobile (VII) zip my backpack, wow, what a advance technology of cashless transaction. sorry the last thing on earth i will do is cashless, cash is king!

Put your phone in your pocket instead of your backpack and unlock it and open the app while you're in line. The transaction is almost instantaneous.

(I) take out my cash (II) pay (III) leave.

(I) You take out your wallet (II) You count your bills and coins (III) You hand them over to the cashier (IV) You wait for the cashier to count it and hand you your change (V) You put your wallet back

People who argue that using cash is faster have never used any of the apps.

A Japanese buddy of mine went to a MLB baseball game in the US and the stadium snack stand wouldn't accept cash. He, being from Japan, didn*t have any of the US apps necessary for paying things w/ his smarthphone. He went without drinking or eating anything at that game. I believe cash should ALWAYS be an option.

I understand in UK some shop establishments refuse "organic" legal tender/cash now.

Some pubs also restaurants,

Shameful.

Must always be a choice for the customer, cash payment is the last baston of good service.

To pay as well as take the King shilling.

It not just "cashless", it is also being marooned in the "desert island" unfriendly world of the self service checkout.

Soon to be a "AI" monotonous droning tone of the faceless pulseless transistorised assistant.

She actually struggles with cash cause she can no longer count properly.

@yoshisan88 Be careful! This of one of the signs of someone who is getting Alzheimer's. It can lead to spontaneous and outrageous spending. Keep an eye on her.

I use both cash and cashless. I use Paypay on Yahoo Auctions because it let you use discount coupons.

What I do not like is cafes where they make you look at the menu and order through your smartphone. My eyesight is declining as I get older, and I do not want to look at a menu which is 6 inches in size.

Data: Sorry I apologise, I just bump into a yank at Hama and he and girl went to the same stadium and they were using Apple Pay and Amex.

I use D barai for everything, the points are good and I get another couple of thousand yen in points when I pay my phone bill the follows month.

You're losing money by paying in cash. And if you're concerned about privacy, the phone in your pocket is keeping track of your location and the cameras in the store are recording what you buy.

I am curious. For those who would only use cash. How much cash do you keep at home? I know Japan is LOW in crime but still things happen. Also there is the risk of earthquake, fire, gas explosion etc. Therefore, I believe people would not withdraw all their money and keep them home. For people who lives in big city like Tokyo and use public transportation, it is very easy to find an ATM to withdraw cash.

I drive to work everyday and taking a detour to an ATM to withdraw cash every week is just too inconvenient to me.

I keep a sum/amount of "cash" in secure safe keeping, in the event of the "totally unexpected"

Calling for a totally "cashless" society, the consequences unimaginable, the unthinkable shock, the stress, at the "flick of a switch" you are literally up poo creek without a paddle,

Your ability to purchase amounts to zero, food, pay bills, travel, cards debit/credit are refused,, think about that.

You phone banking app frozen.

"Cash" is a king also a lifesaver.

Take that essential right to pay in "cash" away permanently..................?

Credit cards are not credit. It’s debt!!!!

Only for people with no self control. My wife and I have been using multiple credit cards for over 30 years. We are never in any credit card debt.

One reason is that they have cash

Apple Pay works best for me. I always have my phone. It's quick, it's easy. I get 1-3% back on every purchase. Get with it Japan. (Google Pay should be available for the Android users too).

yoshisan88

Today 03:25 pm JST

Credit cards are not credit. It’s debt!!!!

> Only for people with no self control. My wife and I have been using multiple credit cards for over 30 years. We are never in any credit card debt.

Assuming no late payments and excluding membership fee, if any, is purchasing using a credit card not more expensive than using cash?

Or there is still interest/any charges that need to be paid

I've only ever used debit

deanzaZZR

Today 03:33 pm JST

Apple Pay works best for me. I always have my phone. It's quick, it's easy. I get 1-3% back on every purchase. Get with it Japan. (Google Pay should be available for the Android users too).

Apple pay is like debit?

1-3 % back is great!

I was very old school before and always used cash. After that I started paying things with my iPhone, debit cards and credit cards. In rural Japan it is very conservative. Some shops it is only cash. I tried to use my credit card once at a supermarket once and the checkout lady said cash only. Sometimes the young checkout girls look at me strangely when I opt to pay with credit or debit card. Even PayPay. I hope society does not go to the extreme of going totally cashless. People should always be given the choice. The other thing is many Japanese do not like using cards online to pay for purchases. They prefer to use gift vouchers and other various vouchers to pay for things on the Internet. You see tons of these vouchers being sold at the convenience store. They see using cards online as risky.

In the USA it's backed by MasterCard. Every country is different of course because of the banking system. We all know how far behind Japanese banking is. It is a shame.

Apple pay is like debit?

Using cash means there are no extra charges.

All transaction methods cost a retailer money. Paying in and withdrawing cash is a service that banks make money from, and as such, this is baked into the price you pay.

Not just “Aging Japan” struggling to to adopt cashless. This not-so-aging foregner simply refuses to go cashless. Buying goods on tick and having mounting debts are bad. Very bad.

Society needs cashless payments like a fish needs a bicycle. If there is any point to it at all, it is to allow total control of all these electronic digits by the people who control the databases. And I cringe every time when I have to wait in line, cash in hand, for some young "cool" people to fiddle endless with their cellphones to make their digital purchases. Congrats Japan to be slow with this insanity.

Assuming no late payments and excluding membership fee, if any, is purchasing using a credit card not more expensive than using cash?

Or there is still interest/any charges that need to be paid

Most retailers charges the same for credit card or cash. Some retailers, usually restaurants, charges and extra 0.1% to 0.3% for credit card payment. 1 to 3 cents extra for every $10 spent, we can live with that. Or we would use our bankcard (see below).

Government departments would charge more for credit card payment and payments are bigger so we would use BPay through our bank. No extra charges.

We always fully pay our credit card bill every month so never pay any interest.

Australian credit cards are terrible. Most requires you to pay an annual fee or additional cards, especially those that allows you to earn points for flights. However, there is still some without that and we are using them

By the way, opening a saving accounts with Australian banks you would get a bankcard with wireless pay function. It is not a credit card. You can only spend what you have in your account. Using it would not inclur any extra fee.

Yes, I meant to write Apple Card. I have had it since day 1 and added Apple Savings later which has an interest rate bumping up towards 5%. Japan should get with the times.

No, it's not. You're probably thinking of the "Apple Card", which is is a MasterCard.

Society needs cashless payments like a fish needs a bicycle. If there is any point to it at all, it is to allow total control of all these electronic digits by the people who control the databases. And I cringe every time when I have to wait in line, cash in hand, for some young "cool" people to fiddle endless with their cellphones to make their digital purchases. Congrats Japan to be slow with this insanity.

Really. I do not think you can shop online by paying cash, right? Online shopping can only be done by using cashless payments. Society needs online shopping. My 73 year old dad shop online more than I do. He keeps telling me the amazing good deals he found.

When someone cannot use something probably, it does not mean that thing is crap.

My mum cannot use her smart phone probably, so smart phone sucks, right?

Going cashless is foolish! You are falling right into the “one world government” scenario of the future. Stick with cash. When cashless systems fail, I just grin as I deal in only cash except for large purchases like plane tickets. Everything else….cash only! Do you really want to be watched and controlled? Think long and hard about why “they” want you to go cashless!

Going cashless is foolish! You are falling right into the “one world government” scenario of the future. Stick with cash. When cashless systems fail, I just grin as I deal in only cash except for large purchases like plane tickets. Everything else….cash only! Do you really want to be watched and controlled? Think long and hard about why “they” want you to go cashless!

You still working or retired. Do you get paid in cash? Do you deposit the cash in a bank or keep it in a money box at your house? If you workplace pay you using electronic transfer it is cashless payment, mate. No escape.

Being watched? Security cameras are everywhere now. You dress as Dark Vader your face when going out?

One world government. I do not mind if it bring peace to the world. The world is seriously fractured now.

@Strangerland

Do you have a link to proof that cashless payments take longer to process?

However, I believe you are wrong.

If I have a $20 product in my hand and I’m at the counter and I show the cash to the staff, I just walk away with the item in a second.

If I have a $20 product in my hand and I’m at the counter and I show the cash to the staff, I just walk away with the item in a second.

What if you are purchasing multiple items like going to a super market? Do you take out your phone and sum up the total value of your purchase plus tax and prepare the correct amount of cash in notes and coins before you go to the counter? What is the amount of different notes and coins you need to prepare before hand? I can put 100 items in my trolley. After the staff at the check out scan them all, I use what ever cashless payment I want and pay it in less than 15 seconds. No a second needed for any preparation.

@yoshisan88

Plenty of people have home safes in Japan and keep a significant amount of cash at home.

Most families probably have 50,000 in cash in wallets at any given time.

Bank Teller see your purchases, whether you like it or not,what you buy is not private

Suica and Pasmo seem quite reliable, I use Pasmo mainly for travel and sports club. But the Smart Phone devices too often don't work, and the sales staff and customers try to sort out the issue with a line of angry customers behind them. And the customers can be young or old, it does not matter.

The total amount of cashless settlements in Japan stood at 126.7 trillion yen in 2023, or a record 39.3 percent of overall consumption in the country, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The government is aiming to attain 40 percent by 2025.

So they want to go from 39.3 percent all the way to 40 percent in 2 years? Wow, what aggressive targets they have!

The downvotes in the only sane answers in this article corroborate the aging society issue.

Why should I change to cashless payments when using cash takes less time to process?

This can't be a serious answer. Tapping your phone on the register is orders of magnitude faster than opening your wallet, paying, receiving your change and putting it back into your wallet.

segmentfault

This can't be a serious answer. Tapping your phone on the register is orders of magnitude faster than opening your wallet, paying, receiving your change and putting it back into your wallet.

You leave out all the fiddling with phone and shops gadgets. By the same token, I could say that stretching out your hand and handing over a proper amount of cash cant be beaten timewise.

And you ignore all the other issues data as cash that have been mentioned.

Don't give up on cash. You'l miss it once it's gone.

My wallet never runs out of power.