LINE Pay (http://line.me/pay) is a mobile payment and money transfer service that enables users to send money easily and conveniently to each other over LINE and to pay for transactions at affiliated stores and on participating services. Since its launch on December 16, 2014 LINE has been building up LINE Pay with the goal of creating a new payment infrastructure for the mobile generation by working with other companies, adding new payment methods, and making the service more secure and convenient to use.
Specifically, LINE is teaming up with other companies to develop new ways for users to add money to their LINE Pay accounts, with the goal of creating an environment in which they can add funds anytime, anywhere, and without any fees. From major banks to Japan Post Bank and other regional banks, the number of banks which users can link with their LINE Pay accounts has expanded to 30, and these linked bank accounts can be used to automatically add money. Users can also add money to their accounts at convenience stores and through bank remittances.
Along with its efforts to diversify payment methods, LINE began issuing physical LINE Pay Cards from March 2016 in Japan, providing 2 percent rebates on purchases, distributed via LINE Points. Furthermore, a new code payment service was introduced at Lawson convenience stores across Japan in January of this year, allowing users to make purchases simply by showing a code displayed on their smartphone at the register.
As a result of these efforts, LINE Pay surpassed 30 million registered users in Japan on May 5, 2017 – two years and four months after the service was started. Nearly half of the LINE app’s 68 million monthly active users in Japan (as of March 31, 2017) have registered for and use this payment platform, which LINE will leverage as it continues to expand its partnerships within the service both in and outside of the LINE app.
LINE will continue to pursue its vision of transforming the LINE Platform into a “Smart Portal,” giving users seamless access to an array of information, media, and services. LINE Pay fits into that vision by improving convenience and providing more opportunities to use e-payments with LINE’s various lifestyle services.