Amazon, SoftBank Vie to Make Japan Cashless

Amazon.com and SoftBank will both roll out smartphone payment services in Japan over the coming months, contending to woo the smaller businesses critical to spreading mobile payments in a still cash-heavy society, Nikkei reported. The platforms offered by the US online retail giant and the Japanese tech and investment powerhouse will require minimal investment by merchants. That approach is friendly to smaller businesses—a group that is estimated to account for about 90% of Japan’s shops—for whom obtaining specialized equipment is a heavy burden. Through local arm Amazon Japan, the American company will introduce its Amazon Pay service to let Japanese brick-and-mortar shoppers use credit cards linked to their account with the retail site. Checkout staff will scan QR codes on customers’ smartphones using tablets, eliminating the need to handle credit cards or for customers to provide a signature. SoftBank said Sunday it will deliver its service in partnership with Indian payment service Paytm and web company Yahoo Japan as soon as this fall. Customers or merchants apparently will both be able to scan QR codes displayed by the other party.