Half of Japan's regional banks to join hands in cashless payment

My god, this is so Japanese to do the opposite of what the rest of the world is doing. NFC is everywhere in Japan why did you have to go backward to barcodes .... so so so so stupid!

Once everything is cashless then people's livelihoods will come down to digits on a screen and who controls those digits

I you have money in the bank, or use credit cards of any kind, this is already the case. Even if you deal entirely in cash, this is still the case, as the government is free to print money and devalue your cash in hand.

If you use a decentralized database (blockchain) like bitcoin, then no one person controls the digits.

For the government, though, this is all about control. They will know about every yen you spend and receive, and where you spent it. And they can tax all of it, or seize it with the push of a button.

Is that a joke that you are offered to pay less if you use that system ?

Will the service be free (note that is it is not explained !!!) ?

I expect there is ripoff somewhere.

And NFC has been working fine for years now in Western Europe, although limited to 30 euros or equivalent.

Good for banks and government, not so good for temples, consumers and small businesses. Just wait until cashless becomes the norms, banks will charge all kinds of fees to businesses and consumers.

How far do they intend to go with this, that's the question. Once everything is cashless then people's livelihoods will come down to digits on a screen and who controls those digits. All transactions will be trackable and it'll be wide open for abuse. At least with cash people still have some control. So many governments and banks are pushing cashless now. Religious or not, it sounds like the mark of the beast.

Good for banks and government, not so good for temples, consumers and small businesses. Just wait until cashless becomes the norms, banks will charge all kinds of fees to businesses and consumers.

It is the norm in the UK. I know small businesses that have gone cash free. After all, everyone has a contactless card now, so what is the point?

I have seen buskers with card readers - far easier to tap for a pound or two than fish around in your bag or wallet.

Thisis not the abolition of cash, but rather about the reduction of it for everyday purchases.

Seems like a lot of people arent aware that Japan has had a form of NFC payment since 2004. Its the rest of the world that is finally starting to catch up to Japan in this regard. And according to what they are saying here, this system would make it easier for small businesses, temples etc to accept cashless payment, as it no longer requires specific hardware (NFC readers).

But, my guess is that Mizuho started developing this system when Apple hadnt yet released a phone with NFC/Felica support. Remember at the time, they were trying to tell us that using barcodes to pay was better than using NFC (then adopted NFC and suddenly it was the best thing ever).

My only worry is that being Mizuho, the payments would only be free between 9-5, monday to Friday, and that it would either be shut down for the weekend, or come with a 'convenience fee' like all their ATMs do.

Another addition to the multitude of payment systems already present in Japanese market. Designed again by those who actually do not care how to make people lives easier but instead trying to make an extra buck (mind you this service will not be free) using archaic technologies.

The funny thing is that they actually think that tourists would be interested in using these services.

Who uses barcodes to pay for every day transactions abroad?

What phone numbers are they planning to charge? If you traveling and you roam the last thing you want is extra charges on your phone.

Who uses LINE outside Japan and is line pay available in other parts of the world.

One step front and 15 backwards.

Cash-back rewards

Popular cashless with Millenials

This reminds me of the social credit system they have in China. Tie that in with cashless and it'll be a tyrants wet dream.

2% back??

Meanwhile PayPay is practically giving cash away with a 20%+ cashback campaign.

Cue CNN to start producing even more "Modern Japan", "High Tech Japan", "Life in Japan, "Japan is Just the Coolest Place Ever" stories. We now have yet another high tech, super cool thing in Japan - barcode payment system. Awesome!!!

Seems like a lot of effort for little payoff. Why not just increase adoption of NFC-type payment systems?

And, if adding this barcode system is truly to help foreign visitors for 2020, why not join a global system already in existence, rather than a Japan-bank-centric one, as almost zero foreign visitors have accounts at Japan banks?

For person to person payments - does everybody get their own barcode? Can I have mine tattooed on my arm, or must it be on my forehead? :)

More seriously, will there be an upper limit to the amount - so that frauds are limited? Personally, I do like cash, but am open to change, just so long as it is safety guaranteed.

I like cash but this move could be great for the Japanese economy. There are plenty of studies that clearly indicate that when people use "cashless payment" they spend significantly more than if they use cash.

I expect there is ripoff somewhere.

Well, this IS Japan... I mean, substantial cash flow and a self-centered, self-serving, individualist society?

Yes. Corruption, of course.

Right now, one hasn't been found but once it's been discovered, we'll all acknowledge that we're being cheated, then follow Japanese tradition and pretend it doesn't exist by staring at the ground or into our iPhones.

Cashless societies are just what the oligarchs want.

Please, do not go down this path Japan.

I expect there is ripoff somewhere.

Handling cash is a very expensive cost for banks. Getting people away from cash and into electronic payments is far cheaper, so such as method should pay for itself.

Other countries are using this technology as well.

As a lowly consumer who is killing the entire world by my consumptive existence, I don’t like using cash. My favorite is Apple Pay. From my research, it is the most secure way to pay. I’ve had a credit card number, just the number, stolen two times and jerks spent $3,000, some stores lost that money. Just a headache for me. Excuse me while I destroy some place by drinking one more cup of coffee.

Actually the chips we have are easy to hack remotely versus the barcodes that have to be read directly, so ironically the system envisioned above is more secure than what our cards use.

I believe Mythbusters was going to bust RFID chip card technology but was lawyered down https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-St_ltH90Oc . The Western banks have backed an inferior technology for their own convenience not security