Xiaomi launches trial operation of virtual bank "Airstar Bank" in Hong Kong

[Updated at 8:00 on the 12th] Added the red part.

About a year and a half after the start of QR code payment, which each company entered, Origami Pay was virtually acquired by Merpay, and LINE Pay and PayPay became the same camp due to management integration, and the reorganization of power seems to have calmed down for a while. looks like On the other hand, from his UX, there is also a view that QR code payment cannot beat his NFC payment. There is a clear difference in convenience between QR code payments, in which you have to launch an app and point the QR code at a store clerk or self-checkout scanner, and NFC payments, in which you just hold your smartphone over the touch sensor without thinking.

It is chaos when buying things with QR code payment, such as collecting points and using coupons at convenience stores. In order to use the coupon, I had a convenience store multimedia kiosk spit out a special bar code, and I took it and the product and headed to the cash register. At the checkout, you have to switch between mobile apps and present the QR code to the clerk twice (or scan it at the self-checkout) to earn points and to pay with the QR code. It's a terrible UX that makes not only the elderly but also digital natives hesitate.

QR code payment providers probably know that NFC payment will be the favorite. However, it is not good for latecomers in terms of cost and timing to spread terminals that conform to their own protocol and are essential for NFC payments to retail stores all over the country. Knowing this is why Merpay is partnering with iD and Rakuten Pay is partnering with Suica. Thanks to a tie-up with the NFC payment network, it may eventually be possible to pay without presenting a QR code.

However, payment terminals costing more than 10,000 yen per unit are only installed at retail stores where the product unit price and customer unit price are above a certain level. In contrast to QR code payments, which can be used even in open-air markets just by attaching a QR code to a cardboard box, the height of the hurdles for introduction is a trade-off. Is it possible to combine the convenience of NFC payment with QR code payment? One of the possibilities can be found in the multi-payment function “PayChoiice” for smartphones announced by Aquabit Spirals last year.

PayChoiice uses the QR code and NFC technology developed by Aquabit Spirals to apply the "Smart Plate" service, which links the user's smartphone to a specific URL, for payment. Users hold their smartphones over smart plates placed in stores to launch his PayChoiice app, and after biometric authentication, they can make payments with ApplePay, GooglePay, credit cards, etc. Stores don't have to install payment terminals, they just have smart plates that don't require batteries.

[Addendum] PayChoiice does not require the installation of a native app and works as a web app.

In payment, the store on the selling side and the consumer on the purchasing side face each other, but when there were no smartphones, the network was only on the store side, so a payment terminal was essential. However, now that the penetration rate of smartphones has exceeded 80%, in stores, the network is more fulfilling for consumers, and stores are more attractive. Previously, we introduced a service called "ParkX" that tries to replace the existing coin parking mechanism with the power of mobile, but the technical scheme of PayChoiice may be similar to this.

Smartphones can do more than payment terminals in stores. In addition, payment terminals are usually connected to credit card companies (acquirers) through payment networks such as CAFIS and GMO Payment Gateway via telephone lines. It will become unnecessary, and the role of payment networks will become more specialized as an exchange that interconnects credit card companies and brands, rather than connecting with stores.

If EMV contactless (so-called non-contact payment of credit cards) were popularized and payment terminals were to disappear, as mentioned above, payment network companies would still have a role to play, but it would be a problem. is a payment terminal company. It is a matter of life and death for them if payment terminals are no longer needed. Last year, Ingenico, the world's largest payment terminal maker, exhibited a concept model mobile app called "Tap on Phone" at MWC. It is exactly the form that the payment terminal maker himself foresaw an era when payment terminals at stores would be unnecessary.

On the other hand, JCB, Japan's largest credit card brand, started a demonstration experiment last month of using PayChoiice to make credit card payments without a payment terminal. According to BusinessInsider, JCB seems to be concerned about whether users will accept his UX of holding a smartphone over a tag, but in today's world where you can't even get on a train without holding your smartphone up, QR code payment It is self-evident that the hurdles are much lower. According to Nikkei, JCB expects to introduce it at small stores and event venues after commercialization.

With the birth of Square and Coiney, payment terminals have expanded from dedicated equipment to smart devices, and the base of the environment that accepts card payments, including food trucks and small stores, has expanded. The next expectation is a paradigm shift that may eliminate the need for payment terminals themselves at stores. As OMO (Online merges with Offline) spreads, it is also a future task to remove the barrier between face-to-face payment (offline purchase premise) and non-face-to-face payment (online purchase premise), which is inevitable for the credit card industry. .

From the end of last year, PayChoiice launched a platform called "Kataru Space" that connects manufacturers/craftsmen and stores, an art marketplace called "TriCERA", and an app that allows you to get numbered tickets without lining up at restaurants and hospitals in Southeast Asia. QueQ” and AI restaurant menu “Satisfood” have been introduced to OMO service providers, and in the future, we would like to confirm how much it contributes to the improvement of UX, together with the voices of end users and business trends.

[Postscript] Regarding the introduction status of OMO service providers, Qatarspace has introduced (announced), QueQ is in the process of introducing (unannounced), and the remaining two companies are planning to introduce.