InComm, a prepaid product and transaction services company, announced Tuesday (April 4) that InComm Japan is partnering with Tencent FiT, the provider of WeChat Pay services and part of the Tencent group of companies headquartered in Shenzen, China.
In a press release, InComm Japan’s POSA network, which connects with more than 50,000 retail stores in the country, will facilitate customer purchases at the point of sale using WeChat Pay-issued barcodes. By leveraging this POSA technology, WeChat Pay customer account billing can be applied at the point of sale. This makes it unnecessary to set up a dedicated terminal and makes WeChat Pay services possible at all InComm retailers, the company said in the press release.
“We are pleased to announce our POSA technology is now available for alternative redemption purposes, and [we’re] very excited to have WeChat joining us,” said Junichi Kito, director of Business Development at InComm Japan, in the press release. “In looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, it is critical for Japanese retailers to prepare for global payment methods, which are convenient for travelers, and it is our mission to support that. We believe this will bring a great additional value for retailers and prepaid issuers in the global market.”
WeChat Pay is a payment service that boasts more than 849 million monthly active users in China, handling more than 500 million transactions a day. The service is becoming one of the main mobile payment methods for consumers in China, InComm said.
With this partnership, InComm’s POSA technology will enable Chinese visitors in Japan to use their smartphone to pay for products and services.
InComm is capitalizing on the uptick in terms of the number of Chinese visitors to Japan. In 2016, according to InComm, the number of Chinese visitors to Japan was more than 5 million, the largest number of tourists ever to visit the island nation.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More