Digital Banking
Japanese consumers shift from cash preference to electronic payments
August 14, 2020
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Japan saw a digital growth shift in consumer spending from cash to card payments, according to a press release.
GlobalData's forecast has card payments in Japan growing an estimated 2.1% in 2020, with a value of JPY91.2 trillion (US $839.4bn) by 2023, and at a compound annual growth rate of 6.0% between 2020 and 2023.
In in June 2020, 7-Eleven in Japan made contactless card acceptance available at all its stores, giving customers the ability to use contactless payment with debit, credit or prepaid cards from major card brands such as Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express and Diners Club.
In July 2020, Sumitomo Mitsui Card issuers made payments easier for merchants, including small businesses, by introducing faster merchant payment cycles, paying merchants in just five days, compared to a month or more in the past.
"Japan has been traditionally a cash-based country, with cash accounting for 73.3% of the overall payment volume in 2019," Ravi Sharma, lead banking and payments analyst at GlobalData said. "While cash will continue to be the dominant payment mode, expanding payment infrastructure, rising card acceptance among SMEs, and the growing consumer preference for non-cash transactions due to COVID-19 will accelerate the adoption of electronic payments over the next five years."
