Suica/PASMO e-money payments top 1M a day

JR and the PASMO council announced last week that purchases paid for using the two now compatible e-money services topped 1,000,000 for the first time on the 23rd of April. the number of shops accepting the payment is nearing 40,000.

just a few weeks ago I wrote about the same numerical milestone, but in reference to the the number of registered Mobile Suica users. note that this time, the figure will include purchases using the regular felica equipped cards. but it is big news as the numerous competing e-money services battle it out to become number one.

some of the commentary is saying the the 'transport afilliated' systems have a big advantage and may dominate in the future. I tend to agreee. I used to be a keen user of Edy. but ever since putting Suica on my mobile, it's just easier to buy everything through the same service when you have to charge it to ride the trains anyway.

it's good timing but digital world tokyo just posted an interesting article about RFID equipped phones and mobile wallet services:

RFID in Japan: Japan’s experience with RFID phones and contactless cash

DoCoMo reveals new brand logo and colour

a week back DoCoMo (or should that be 'docomo' from now on?) announced the overhaul of the company's brand logo and colour. you can read all about the concept of the changes here in the official english press release.

actually, its all change at DoCoMo these days, with the announcement of the merger between the head company based in Tokyo and the other 8 regional group companies. also, although it hasn't been confirmed by DoCoMo, the press is saying that the man at the top is also on the way out.

Mobile SUICA users top 1 million

the number of registered members for Mobile SUICA, JR's mobile phone version of its Felica based electronic money and train fare payment system has topped 1 million. the service, which began back in January of 2006, hits this target more than 14 months behind schedule.

it is going back a while, but I used to enjoy the massively off target user figures, back when you had to have a JR credit card to use the service. (the fact that they rejected my application for a JR credit card didn't help.) anyway, I am now happy to report that I'm one of the 1,000,000 users of Mobile SUICA and a happy one at that.

as you can see in the graph below, they mention some service improvement events along the timeline, but I reckon one of the reasons for the latest spike in numbers could have something to do with people getting in before March 31st, which saw the end of the waiver for first year non-JR credit card fees. however, having said this, the Shinkansen service seems to have been popular with 50,000 transactions in the 27 days from when it began on 15th March.

you can find the official (Japanese) press release here.