Apple announced in September 2016 that the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and the second generation Apple Watch would be equipped with Sony FeliCa NFC technology so that Japanese consumers could make Apple Pay transactions at locations equipped to support the local contactless payments variant.
The launch has not been without issues, however, with commuters using JR East’s Mobile Suica service reporting problems registering their train passes onto their iPhones, recharging funds and buying express tickets.
“East Japan Railway Co said users are experiencing difficulties connecting to the Mobile Suica contactless payment system, after the rail operator servicing Tokyo metropolitan area began accepting Apple Pay today,” Bloomberg reports.
As well as Suica, credit and prepaid card issuers supporting Apple Pay in Japan include American Express, iD, QuicPay, AEON, Credit Saison, JCB, Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos, Orient Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Card, Toyota Finance, UC Cards and View Card.
More than that, IBM Japan, using Rambus Bell ID’s complete token service provider (TSP) technology, will support Japanese banks with Apple Pay integration and mobile payments security across a range of international payment schemes and the FeliCa regional scheme.
Issuing banks can now work with IBM Japan to manage the real-time enrollment, provisioning and tokenization needed to offer Apple Pay to account holders. Tokenization removes sensitive payment credentials from the transaction process, replacing them with a ‘token’.
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