Which electronic payment card systems do you use in Japan? Have you experienced any problems with them?

@the Resident - haha - you are correct. Downvotes (or upvotes) mean very little here.

Maybe people do not like your choice of payment method? I do not know.

I am old fashioned and use cash (and expect downvotes for that)

On one side it’s working well and is convenient in general. But on the other side, you sometimes have to register newly , make refills under stress when a line is waiting behind you, and the worst thing of all, you have no overview and ‘dead’ money on all those accounts if you don’t use them again or regularly. Weighing it, I just don’t like it at all, but it’s part of our new ‘life’ we are pressed to abide and hail to. In other words, I want my ‘80s and ‘90s back, beware me of all your current crazy societies.

MickeliciousJune 23 04:50 pm JST

I use a Wise (formerly Transferwise)

Troublesome and fraught with issues when doing international transfers. I would not recommend these clowns.

As for "problems," the first question in ID Debit setup wizard for the smartphone app gives you 2 options in the first stage:

People using ID for the first time

People who have used id before changing models

Well, neither are me. So I lie, and then next question is "enter your credit card transfer code."

Huh? I checked. The card has none. So, as far as I'm concerned, the app is unusable.

I use a Wise (formerly Transferwise) Mastercard debit card which allows me to keep funds in any currency I like, and easily accept payments from overseas. Currencies are changed at inter-bank rates with 1% commission. I still need to carry a card with me, as it doesn't sync with Apple Pay (yet?). Some shops offer tap and go, some just need the card without PIN, and others need PIN verification, but all transactions appear instantly on my phone screen. The cost savings of currency exchanges are the biggest draw for me, next is the intuitive user experience through iPhone and computer, and thirdly not having to deal so often with Japanese banks.

There's always Suica for 電子マネー。

Suica on the train, which I rarely use, especially since the SoE.

au Wallet prepaid via au Pay or Apple Pay for most small daily transactions. occasionally Waon, depending on the shop.

Visa credit for larger purposes and monthly repeating payments.

There's just one local supermarket that won't take au Wallet, so cash there; a bit of a bind, but at least there's an ATM on the premises so if I end up with too much stuff in my basket I can take a detour on the way to the checkout.

Cash Rules !

Japanese credit cards 80% and cash 20%. Haven't used public transport in 35 years, so no Suica.

If this comments sections is anything to go by, apparently most Japan Today readers don't use public transport in a country like Japan!

I use debit card to withdraw cash, a variety of various IC cards for public transport and store purchases, and occasionally I might use a smartphone wallet like LINE pay.

ID Debit. It works well on my credit card. But I tried to register my account on the smartphone app, it was a Kafkaesque nightmare and a waste of an hour of my life.

I use my Japanese creditcard almost everywhere, gas station, supermarket, restaurants, motorcycle repair, online AmazonJapan etc. - there are only a few discount shops in my area which accept only cash.

Suica and credit card. I just hate having change in my wallet, especially all those 1 and 5 yen coins.

Pasmo is quite useful, I don't commute by train, but I use it to pay at my company's cafeteria, at vending machines, and parking lots. No troubles to date. Credit card for stuff over 2,000 yen (where it's accepted), and online, just one problem in almost 20 years, some smartass cloned my card during a trip to US. Bank promptly called me and cancelled the card and the attempted transactions.

Does ETC card count?

Love it - 3 downvotes for a factual statement.

Suica on my phone and ID on my bank card. Zero problems. Rarely use cash these days.