e-money

Just over two in five Japanese know PayPal

Do you know PayPal? graph of japanese statisticsgoo Research recently conducted a survey into online cash transfer services, the results of which were reported on by japan.internet.com.

Demographics

Between the 1st and 5th of July 2011 1,095 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.9% of the sample were male, 16.5% in their teens, 18.1% in their twenties, 21.5% in their thirties, 16.3% in their forties, 15.6% in their fifties, and 12.1% aged sixty or older.

I use PayPal as a holding account for receiving payments from advertising then paying out for online services, which seems to work out very well as my miscellaneous income nicely balances out with my outgoings such as web hosting.

I translated another similar survey on PayPal about a year ago, and as can be seen the usage and awareness of PayPal has marginally increased since then.
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By Ken Y-N, ago

Japanese electronic cash card users continue to decrease

How much per month do you spend using your IC card e-cash? graph of japanese statisticsThe 16th regular survey from goo Research into electronic money found that the number of users continues a slide first highlighted in the 15th regular survey, although the report on japan.internet.com does not speculate at what might be the cause.

Demographics

Over the 6th and 7th of July 2010 1,156 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.1% of the sample were male, 16.5% in their teens, 19.6% in their twenties, 20.8% in their thirties, 15.8% in their forties, and 27.2% aged fifty or older.

My IC card cash gets used on public transport and convenience stores only. All the other shops that accept it also accept the credit card portion, and most of them also award 3% points instead of just 1%, so it’s an easy choice. Furthermore, they more often than not don’t even ask for a PIN when using credit, so the extra effort required is minimal.
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By Ken Y-N, ago

RFID IC card readers owned by one in five Japanese IC card users

Do you have a contactless electronic cash card reader/writer? graph of japanese statisticsFrom the fifteen regular survey by goo Research into electronic money japan.internet.com chose to focus on ownership of IC card readers and writers.

Demographics

Between the 23rd and 26th of April 2010 1,085 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.7% of the sample were male, 16.3% in their teens, 18.2% in their twenties, 21.7% in their thirties, 16.1% in their forties, and 27.6% aged fifty or older.

Although the security of the IC chip itself within most Japanese credit cards and mobile phones is well proven, thus by extension on the reader devices, I am unaware of how good or bad the security on the surrounding applications are. Regardless, a number of the higher-end notebook computers these days come with a built-in IC card reader chip so that online shopping checkout can be paid for by electronic money on either a mobile phone or a credit card.
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By Ken Y-N, ago

Rapid payment, points systems key attractions of electronic money

Do you have contactless IC card-type of electronic cash? graph of japanese statisticsThe next milestone for electronic cash, the subject of a recent survey from goo Research (the 14th in the regular series) and reported on by japan.internet.com, is two-thirds of the sample having experienced electronic cash, a figure which should be reached by summer, I suspect.

Demographics

Between the 15th and 18th of February 2010 1,086 members of the goo Research monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.8% of the sample were male, 15.9% in their teens, 18.0% in their twenties, 21.5% in their thirties, 16.3% in their forties, and 28.3% aged fifty or older.

Note that the survey is looking only at credit card form-factor cash, not IC chips embedded into mobile phones.

I use mine mostly for trains and in-station shops, as it doesn’t come out of my monthly budget. When I first got my card I did use it at a restaurant and book store, but I found out that thrice as many points were on offer if I used the credit card function instead!
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By Ken Y-N, ago

Electronic cash usage rates slowly creeping upwards

How long is it since you first started using electronic cash? graph of japanese statisticsAccording to the 13th regular electronic cash survey from goo Research and reported on by japan.internet.com, both the percentage of card holders and the frequency of usage is increasing, but over the last year the change has been almost within the margin of error for these surveys.

Research results

Between the 30th of November and the 4th of December 2009 1,092 members of the goo Research internet monitor group completed a private online questionnaire. 53.6% of the sample were male, 16.1% in their teens, 18.7% int heir twenties, 21.7% in their thirties, 15.8% in their forties, and 27.7% aged fifty or older.

I’m really getting quite into my Stacia card, with most days seeing me buy a morning snack at a convenience store on the way to work, and at the weekends getting a bottle of water from a vending machine or a station kiosk. It’s easier to budget (or should that be cheat on my allowance?) too, as I don’t end up wasting my cash on lots of fiddly things.
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By Ken Y-N, ago

Majority of mobile phones now have IC chips

Have you used your mobile phone's Osaifu Keitai functionality? graph of japanese statisticsIn the twelveth regular survey into electronic cash, conducted by goo Research and reported on by japan.internet.com, it is now not just credit card electronic cash that has passed the 50% penetration mark, but also mobile phones have reached that milestone, although the majority of the mobile phone contactless IC chips are lying idle.

Demographics

Between the 25th and 30th of September 2009 1,094 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.9% of the sample were male, 16.5% in their teens, 18.2% in their twenties, 21.2% in their thirties, 16.5% in their forties, and 27.5% aged fifty or older.

I don’t have an electronic cash-capable phone, but I recently bit the bullet and went for a smart card-based season ticket plus electronic cash functionality (Hankyu Stacia) and I must say it’s rather handy, although they have a horrendously unnecessarily complicated dual (could even be triple) parallel point system, although on my very first statement I got no points at all…
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By Ken Y-N, ago

Quicker payments is electronic cash’s main attraction in Japan

Do you have a contactless IC chip e-cash card? graph of japanese statisticsAnother regular survey today from goo Research, this time being the 10th electronic cash survey, as reported on by japan.internet.com.

Demographics

Between the 1st and 4th of June 2009 1,106 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.2% of the sample were male, 16.6% in their teens, 18.4% in their twenties, 21.2% in their thirties, 16.3% in their forties, and 27.5% aged fifty or older.

The only electronic cash I use is at the work canteen and shop, which isn’t really electronic cash, I would argue; it uses the corporate credit card and gets charged through to my credit card just like a normal transaction – electronic cash to me has a rechargeable sum of cash stored in the card that gets subtracted from as you use. However, I don’t think this survey made such a subtle distinction.

Note that the survey concentrates on chipped credit cards, not mobile phones with the same chips.
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By Ken Y-N, ago

Season tickets main IC chip card use in Japan

Do you have any IC chip-based electronic cash cards? graph of japanese statisticsWith the majority of Japanese now carrying credit card form factor contactless IC chip-based RFID electronic cash, this recent survey from goo Research reported on by japan.internet.com into electronic cash (their eighth regular survey into the topic) gave some clues as to how people use them.

Demographics

Between the 24th and 27th of March 2009 1,093 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.8% of the sample were male, 16.5% in their teens, 18.4% in their twenties, 21.6% in their thirties, 15.9% in their forties, and 27.6% aged fifty or older.

I get the headline from looking at Q1SQ1 and Q1SQ2 together. The most common use for cards is for public transportation, yet the majority spend under 3,000 yen a month, which suggests just very occasional payment for train usage. However, pre-paid season tickets with electronic money functions are the norm for many commuters, and as 3,000 yen would barely cover even the cheapest season ticket, I can only conclude that people are not counting the cost of their season ticket within their monthly spend. Indeed, I would have liked to have seen the survey differentiate between season tickets and pay-as-you-go usage on public transport.
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By Ken Y-N, ago

Under one in three phone RFIDs being used

Do you use your mobile phone's Osaifu Keitai? graph of japanese statisticsThis rather a bit too short to be really useful report published on japan.internet.com regarding goo Research’s fourth regular electronic money survey revealed that the Osaifu Keitai feature in most phones go unused.

Demographics

Between the 20th and 23rd of October 2008 1,093 members of the goo Research monitor panel completed an internet-based questionnaire. 52.6% of the sample were male, 16.5% were in their teens, 18.2% in their twenties, 21.5% in their thirties, 16.1% in their forties, and 27.7% aged fifty or older.

Note that in Q2 Osaifu Keitai (literally Mobile Wallet) is a trademarked service of docomo, the main promoter of electronic cash, but now most phones from the three big operators come with the FeliCa chip inside, ready to work with most electronic cash providers.
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By Ken Y-N, ago

Electronic cash cards carried by majority of Japanese

Do you carry a contactless IC (RFID) electronic cash card? graph of japanese statisticsAccording to this survey from goo Research and reported on by japan.internet.com a very significant threshold has been crossed, with the majority of Japanese now carrying an electronic cash-capable device, be it either in a credit card form factor or in a mobile phone, according to the third regular electronic cash survey.

Demographics

Between the 12th and 17th of September 2008 1,072 members of the goo Research monitor panel completed an online private questionnaire. 53.6% of the sample were male, 15.7% in their teens, 18.4% in their twenties, 21.9% in their thirties, 16.1% in their forties, and 27.9% aged fifty or older.

I have for one out of the three legs of my journey to work a ICOCA card, JR West’s version of the Suica railway pass. However, mine is used exclusively as a season ticket only; I haven’t used it as cash for at least two years. Work also allows us to use our RFID-enabled company ID to pay for lunch and at the shop, but that’s not really electronic cash, just a quick credit card payment function.

My wife uses her mobile phone a lot, however, at shops in and around the stations, but that’s technically not electronic cash as she has it linked to her credit card. I don’t know how much this blurring of roles affected the answers to the survey, however, but Q1SQ1 suggests that most people are charging their cards with cash, not having a direct link to a credit card or bank account.
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By Ken Y-N, ago