[Japan] LINE Pay Announces LINE Pay Global Alliance to Become No.  1 Payment Service for Inbound Tourism

2018.11.27 LINE Pay

・Strategic partnership with China's WeChat Pay enables foreign travelers to  make payments at stores in Japan that accept LINE Pay

・LINE Pay to be connected among Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, along  with Korea's Naver Pay

 

TOKYO – November 27, 2018 – LINE Pay Corporation, operator of smartphone digital wallet service LINE Pay  (http://line.me/pay) available on the LINE messaging app, announces to launch LINE Pay Global Alliance to  enable LINE Pay merchants in Japan  to tap into inbound tourist demands. LINE Pay aims to become the  largest payment service in Japan for inbound tourism.

 

LINE Pay boasts 40 million registered users (*2) on the LINE app, which has 165 million monthly active users  (*1) in its four major markets-- Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia-- making LINE the largest  communication platform in Asia.

 

(*1) as of September 2018

(*2) as of November 2017

 

Under LINE's localization strategy, LINE Pay so far has operated its service independently within each  country and region. The LINE Pay Global Alliance concept is to provide seamless payment service enabling  merchants to capture demands not only from domestic users, but also from inbound visitors, which is  expected to surge in 2019 and beyond. Starting 2019, payment service users residing in countries and  regions that are members of this Global Alliance will be able to make payments at LINE Pay outlets in Japan  without having to download a separate app or register for new a service.

 

With the strategic partnership with Tencent, operator of WeChat, China's largest social media app, this  alliance will first enable WeChat Pay users visiting Japan to make payments using QR codes(*2) at LINE Pay  merchants and their locations (*1) in early 2019.

 

(*1) Only LINE Pay Terminal and Printed QR code at the time of release Details will be announced at the  time of service launch.

(*2) "QR Code" is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED.

 

In addition, LINE Pay partners with NAVER, the largest search engine operator in Korea, to enable Naver Pay  users to make cashless payments in Japan within 2019.  LINE Pay merchants would benefit by tapping into the  demands of cashless payment service users from the top two countries in terms of number of inbound visitors  to Japan. (*3)

 

(*3) Source: Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)

 

Furthermore, LINE Pay in Japan will connect with its networks in Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, so that  tourists can use their local LINE Pay app to make payments in Japan. This means that the worldwide LINE and  LINE Pay users would be prospective customers for LINE Pay merchants in Japan. Notably, Taiwan is the third largest market of inbound travelers, following China and Korea, where LINE Pay being the largest mobile  payment platform, enjoys a large user base.

 

LINE Pay will contribute to promote mobile payment in Japan by further responding to inbound tourist  demands.

 

Early 2019 (tentative)

■China:    WeChat Pay

Operator: Tencent Holdings Limited

Platform: WeChat, social media app

Number of users: 1.0825 billion globally (MAU)

Number of WeChat Pay users: not disclosed

 

2019 (tentative)

■Korea:    Naver Pay

Operator: NAVER Corporation

Platform: NAVER

Number of Users: 30 million (mobile DAU)

Number of Naver Pay users: 24 million

 

■Japan / Taiwan / Thailand / Indonesia:    LINE Pay

Platform: LINE, communication app

Number of Users: 165 million (MAU)

Number of LINE Pay Users: 40 million

 

LINE Pay closes the distance between people, money, and services by eliminating existing pain-points –  time, effort, fees, and more – of circulating money. The company also aims to lead the mobile FinTech  industry as the world moves increasingly towards a cashless and walletless society.

 

LINE Pay Corporation Overview (as of May 11, 2018)

Company name: LINE Pay Corporation

Head office: JR Shinjuku Miraina Tower 23F, 4-1-6 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Yongsu Ko, Representative Director and Chief Executive Officer

Capital: JPY 3.6 billion

Established: May 9, 2014

Primary business:

- Issuance, sales, and management of e-money, other electronic monetary value, and advance payment methods,  provision of digital payment systems, and funds transfer

- Sales and operation of LINE@

- Operation of LINE Kakeibo

- Service development

- Advertising agency

 

LINE Pay Corporation is a registered member of the following organizations and has obtained the following  registrations in association with its business:

- Issuers of Prepaid Payment Instruments for Third-Party Business (Registration number: the Director of the  Kanto Finance Bureau 00669, Registration date: October 1, 2014)

- Funds Transfer Service Providers (Registration number: the Director of the Kanto Finance Bureau General  00036, Registration date: October 1, 2014)

- Japan Payment Service Association (http://www.s-kessai.jp, Admission date: August 6, 2014)