JCB, AEON Develop QUICPay for FeliCa
JCB, the international payment brand, AEON Credit Service, the retail-affiliated credit card company, and NTT DoCoMo jointly announced today that JCB and AEON have developed the QUICPay payment solution for cards with contactless IC chips. The QUICPay service is also compatible with NTT DoCoMo’s smart-card handsets. A trial project for the new QUICPay solution will begin this autumn.
QUICPay (“Quick and Useful IC Payment”) offers simple and speedy offline payment service. By simply applying for this service, part of the customer’s existing credit limit is assigned to a specific contactless IC chip, which may be embedded in a plastic card, or incorporated in the customer’s i-mode FeliCa service compatible mobile phone.
As the QUICPay amount is billed to the customer’s existing credit card, the new application lets customers continue to enjoy their credit card loyalty point and mileage benefits. While users of prepaid cards must track the remaining value and take the time to reload it with cash, with QUICPay, they can increase the credit line amount during a payment transaction at any service supported store.
QUICPay’s most prominent advantage is the significant reduction of throughput speed compared to the conventional cash payment, as transaction times of less than one second are standard for offline processing and no signature is needed. Consequently, QUICPay is better suited for specific merchants such as supermarkets and convenience stores alike where promptness is appreciated.
“JCB’s goal is to increase user-friendliness and at the same time maintain healthy growth in the credit industry. We believe that QUICPay benefits not only consumers, but merchants and card companies as well,” said Atsushi Gondo Executive Officer at JCB. “And even more exciting is the added entertainment value for customers who use QUICPay with their mobile phone ?C the visual and communication elements make this payment system fun as well as user-friendly.”
In the future JCB and AEON plan to invite other credit card companies to participate in QUICPay in cooperation with NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode FeliCa Service.
JCB was an early leader in the implementation of contactless payment systems, starting with a system for the Megaweb theme park in Odaiba offering visitors the choice of prepay or postpay by JCB card, while recent innovations have included participation in the preview of the i-mode FeliCa Service in March 2003, the e-METI JCB Business Card for employee purchases at METI canteens, and technological advances such as the DualPlus tm interface providing contact and contactless interface to a single chip. Contactless postpayment is also an integral part of JCB’s OfficaTM and Mobile Offica multifunction corporate solutions, currently in use by 10 companies within Japan.
AEON has been actively conducting a trial service for the business solution using contactless IC technology from February 2002 on their company site in Tokyo. The trial has been based around a multifunctional hybrid smart card, which can be used as a credit card, identification card, and prepaid card bearing contactless eletronic money “AEON Cash”, where value can be reloaded from the credit card.
NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode FeliCa service and the compatible handsets can be used for a variety of¡¡unprecedented functions, including rail pass, debit card (electronic money), credit card and personal identification card, applications previously possible only with IC-equipped cards.
The service and the handsets are among the latest examples of how NTT DoCoMo is expanding the scope of wireless culture, turning i-mode mobile phones into multifunctional tools for everyday life.
i-mode and FOMA are trademarks or registered trademarks of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan and other countries. NTT DoCoMo’s FOMA service is available only to subscribers in Japan. FeliCa is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation.
About NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo is the world’s leading mobile communications company, serving more than 48 million customers. The company offers a wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services, including i-mode(r), which provides e-mail and internet access to over 41 million subscribers as the world’s most popular mobile internet service, and FOMA(r), launched in 2001 as the world’s first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA. In addition to wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and North America, the company is expanding its global reach through strategic alliances with mobile and multimedia service providers in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. NTT DoCoMo is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM), and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For further information, please visit the NTT DoCoMo home page at: ?Company_Show.asp?compid=1569
About Aeon Credit Service Co., Ltd.
AEON Credit Service Co., Ltd. (“AEON Credit”) is one of the leading credit card companies in Asia and is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. (8570)@By-issuing AEON Card and strategically co-branded credit cards such as the TOYS “R” US Card, it has built up a base of 12.1 million cardholders as of FY 2003. AEON Credit has grown rapidly since it first set up operations in Hong Kong in 1987, then later expanding into Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and Shenzhen, China. The subsidiaries in Hong Kong (900) and Thailand (AEONTS) have grown to the extent of listing their shares on local exchanges. For further information, please visit the Aeon Credit Service Co., Ltd. home page at: www.aeoncredit.co.jp/aeon/eng/
About JCB Co. Ltd.
JCB is an international credit card brand and the largest card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding overseas in 1981. Its merchant network includes 11.7 million merchants and spans 189 countries and territories. JCB cards are now issued in 18 countries and territories, with 51.6 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with more than 320 leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. JCB’s corporate philosophy of “Service from the heart”, a commitment to responsive and high-quality service, continues to guide it as it creates the future together with its customers, merchants and partners. For further information, please visit the JCB Co. Ltd. home page at: www.jcb-global.com/english
Contact
Aeon Credit Service Co.,Ltd.
Tomoharu Fukayama or Takahiro Shioda
Public Relations Section
Tel: +81-3-5281-2027
Fax: +81-3-5281-2468
e-mail: pr@aeon.co.jp
Web: http://www.aeoncredit.co.jp/aeon/eng/
NTT DoCoMo, Inc.
Masanori Goto or Tomoko Tsuda
International PR
Public Relations Department
Tel: +81-3-5156-1366
Fax: +81-3-5501-3408
e-mail: press_dcm@nttdocomo.com
website: http://www.nttdocomo.com
JCB Co., Ltd.
Kazunori Toma
Planning Group
International Department
Tel: +81-3-5778-8370
Fax: +81-3-5778-8377
e-mail: kazunori.toma@jcb.co.jp
website: www.jcb-global.com/english or www.jcbinternational.com