KDDI Launches Trial of New 'Premium EZ Payment'
KDDI and Okinawa Cellular Telephone will launch ‘Premium EZ Payment’, a new payment collection service where charges for purchases of products through participating online shopping sites are invoiced to end users monthly together with their au cellular service charges.
On-line shopping sites registered with the new service will be designated on Ezweb, au’s internet access service. “au de okaimono” (shopping at au), a shopping portal site, will also launch on Ezweb at the same time, to facilitate consumer use of the new payment collection service. The new services will become available on July 3, 2003.
On-line shopping had been expanding primarily among PC users, but has started to grow rapidly with users of cellular phones with advances with mobile internet services, enabling users to make purchases anytime and anywhere. Usage patterns with mobile internet services have also developed, from the standard purchase pattern where users shop directly from their cellular phones, to ordering from cellular phones after choosing products featured in magazines and catalogues.
Yet, even as many payment options are already available including credit settlement at convenience stores, payment collected by delivery companies, and bank transfers among others, consumers have continued to feel insecure entering their credit card details on-line, inconvenienced to make special trips to pay for their shopping, pay handling charges, or otherwise pay the premium prices most on-line retailers are required to pass along.
Premium EZ Payment Collection should allow users to purchase a product from on-line shops via mobile internet as easily as the purchase of digital content such as ringing tones and images, by simply entering the password. Additionally, consumers will be able to purchase products casually, safely and easily round the clock, and pay for them with their cellular service bills.
Businesses operating on-line shops will be able to include lower priced items in their product lines which had been excluded in settlement schemes, and encourage more shoppers to take purchase their items through the “au de okaimono” shopping portal and a variety of new BREW applications in the pipeline.
33 companies, including Rakuten Inc., and a wide variety of retailers, content providers, and ASPs, are planning to participate in this new service. Notably, there are plans to offer a service package to companies wishing to take part in the trial. The service package includes a e-commerce mechanism for bringing products online, made possible through a partnership with eCash Corporation, and a logistics service for companies requiring product delivery to customers, developed in collaboration with Yamato System Development Co., Ltd.
Going forward, KDDI and Okinawa Cellular Telephone, developing their concept of “shopping with au in your hand”, will work to offer new methods of shopping on-line and develop a “shopping lifestyle” using cellular phones, enabling users to enjoy mobile shopping while browsing magazines, catalogues, watching TV or commuting to work, and otherwise making the best use of their time.
About KDDI Corporation
KDDI Corporation was established in 1984 and is currently the second largest telecommunications company in Japan, providing a comprehensive range of voice, data, IP and mobile services to both business customers and consumers. After merging with KDD and IDO in October, 2000, KDDI serves over 15 million long-distance subscribers, 1.4 million internet subscribers, 13 million mobile subscribers, and 5 million PHS subscribers. KDDI has 34,000 km of highly reliable domestic network infrastructure, in addition to optical submarine cable systems such as TPC-5, Japan-US CN and China-US CN. KDDI also works to develop advanced technology in the areas of radio & mobile, lightwave, multimedia, and Internet communications. The KDDI Group consists of approx 100 companies covering a wide variety of telecommunications-related businesses such as engineering, facility hosting, submarine cable construction, and R&D.For further information, please visit the KDDI Corporation home page at: www.kddi.com/english/index.html
ContactNeil RosenblattNippon Digital Communications, forKDDI Corporationrosenblatt@nippondigi.com+81-3-5623-1493 June. 19, 2003, 19:33 (JST)
Source: KDDI Corporation
KDDI Corporation (TSE: 9433) (OTC: KDDIF)
www.kddi.com/english/index.html