Online financial transactions in Japan

This survey from MMD Labo looked at many aspects of online financial transactions in Japan. Note that the topic is banking and investment-related transactions, not ordinary online shopping.

I don’t do any financial transactions online because, as is tradition in Japan, I leave all the money stuff to my wife.

In Q4, I am very surprised by the result that over half use QR or bar code-based payment methods, yet less than a third use IC Card contactless, given that almost every phone sold in Japan is contactless-ready (mind you, they are also QR Code-ready) and my experience with trains is that the vast majority are using some form of contactless payment, although I suppose since I travel mostly on commuter lines in the big city I have certain observer bias.

Research results

Q1: Have you used an internet bank or internet banking? (Sample size=4,400)

	Currently using	Used to use	Investigating using	Not used
All	61.6%	7.7%	4.2%	26.5%
10 to 29 years old N=829	43.4%	9.4%	7.7%	39.4%
30 to 39 years old N=785	58.1%	8.4%	4.8%	28.7%
40 to 49 years old N=1,014	67.6%	7.8%	3.9%	20.7%
50 to 59 years old N=892	69.1%	5.5%	2.6%	22.9%
60 to 69 years old N=880	67.4%	7.5%	2.4%	22.7%

Q2: Which is the main internet bank or internet banking that you have used? (Sample size=324)

Rakuten Bank	30.9%
Yucho (post office) Bank	9.6%
Mizuho Bank	7.7%
Sumitomo SBI Net Bank	7.4%
Mitsubishi UFJ Bank	7.4%
Regional bank	7.4%
Japan Net Bank	5.6%
Mitsui Sumitomo (SMBC) Bank	4.9%
Sony Bank	3.4%
au Jibun Bank	3.4%
Aeon Bank	3.1%
Shinsei Bank	2.5%
Seven Bank	1.2%
Risona Bank	1.2%
Shinkin (credit association) Bank	1.2%

Q3: What is important then choosing an internet bank or internet banking? (Sample size=317, multiple answer)

Cheap, free transaction fees	62.1%
24-hour usage	40.7%
Simple processes	38.8%
Trustworthy security	38.2%
Can use app	25.2%
Location of ATMs	24.0%
High interest rates	21.5%
Ease of use of transaction tools	18.9%
Full lineup of service, transaction products	16.1%
Reduces fiddly data entry	15.5%
Other	1.3%

Q4: Do you use cashless payment service, and have you linked these services to your bank account? (Sample size=4,400)

Q4A: QR code, bar code-based

Using, and linked	29.1%
Using, not linked	23.1%
Used, linked	2.4%
Used, not linked	2.8%
Not used	42.7%

Q4B: Smartphone contactless-based

Using, and linked	12.8%
Using, not linked	19.4%
Used, linked	2.4%
Used, not linked	3.3%
Not used	62.1%

Q4C: Card-based e-cash

Using, and linked	16.7%
Using, not linked	31.3%
Used, linked	2.2%
Used, not linked	5.3%
Not used	44.5%

Q5: Why did you link your cashless payment service to your bank account? (Sample size=1,815)

To spend less time withdrawing cash at the ATM	42.4%
Can make the payment there and then	32.8%
Has an auto-charge facility that makes things easier	30.7%
Because it was issued through my bank account	27.2%
Easy to find out how much money I spend	22.5%
Because I don’t have a credit card	9.9%
Other	2.3%
No particular reason	11.1%

Q6: Do you feel financial transactions on the internet are unsafe? (Sample size=4,400)

Yes	27.6%
Perhaps	40.5%
Perhaps not	21.3%
No	10.7%

Not surprisingly, for both sexes, more older people felt it was unsafe than younger people, but also women in their teens and twenties felt it more unsafe than men in their sixties.

Q7: What security measures do you take when performing financial transactions with your internet bank, banking? (Sample size=316, multiple answer)

Carefully check my transaction history	37.3%
Set up two factor authentication	34.8%
Don’t log in on public computers	30.1%
Keep OS and software up-to-date	27.8%
Don’t use public Wi-Fi	27.5%
Install security software	25.6%
Use smartphone screen lock feature	24.4%
Set up a notification email address	21.5%
Take anti-spam measures	20.9%
Use a strong password	18.7%
Stop, plan to stop bank account, payment service	5.4%
Other	0.9%
Nothing in particular	15.2%

Q8: Have you ever bought and sold shares online? (Sample size=4,400)

Currently doing so	20.1%
Previously did so	6.8%
Investigating doing so	5.3%
Never done	67.8%

Those in their thirties were the most likely to have dealt online; 4.1 percentage points more than average were doing so.

Q9: Which online services have you used for share dealing? (Sample size=316, multiple answer, top 15)

Rakuten Securities	24.8%
SBI Securities	21.9%
Nomura Securities	11.1%
Monex Securities	6.7%
Matsui Securities	4.1%
SMBC Nikko Securities	3.8%
SBI Neo Mobile Securities	3.5%
au Kabucom Securities	2.9%
GMO Clock Securities	2.9%
Daiwa Securities	2.9%
DMM.com Securities	2,2%
Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities	1.9%
Tokai Tokyo Securities	1.9%
LINE Securities	1.6%
Sakuso Bank Securities	1.3%

Q10: What is important when choosing an internet share dealing service? (Sample size=326, multiple answer)

Cheap fees	70.6%
Simple procedures for setting up account, etc	35.0%
Easy to use, easy to understand dealing tools	35.7%
Trustworthy security	34.0%
Non-pushy sales	25.8%
Broad range of products	24.8%
24-hour operation	23.9%
Mobile phone app	23.3%
Depth of fund information, analysis	20.6%
Easy to get in touch	13.5%
High interest rates	12.0%
Other	2.5%

Demographics

Between the 20th and 29th of October 2020 4,400 members of the MMD Labo monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. From these 4,400 661 people who had used either internet banking or internet share dealing were selected for more detailed questioning. The sample was made up of males and females aged between 18 and 69 years of age.