The newly announced iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2 will bring customers in Japan the ability to use Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile payment service, beginning in October.
Users will be able to commute and pay for everyday items with Suica from JR East, and make private credit and prepaid card purchases in stores, apps and on the web with a single touch. Apple is also introducing support for transit in Japan with Maps in iOS 10, so commuters can find ride details, including fare breakdowns that automatically show Suica pricing right on their device, making their commute more seamless and simpler than ever.
Apple Pay is accepted anywhere Suica is available, so users can make quick everyday purchases and buy or reload a Suica card or commuter pass, all with their iPhone, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Japan’s major financial brands will also support Apple Pay, so shoppers can make purchases in many of the country’s largest stores, at neighborhood shops and restaurants, and from their favorite online merchants.
Also, the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2 sold in Japan will support FeliCa Type-F NFC contactless technology, which is used every day for more than 160 million transactions across Japan.
When Maps launches support for transit in Japan with iOS 10 in October, Apple Pay users can map out and pay for their entire commute, including major train, subway, ferry and national bus lines, on their iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2, based on updated fare and schedule information. If you have a Suica card added to Apple Pay and are planning a route that exceeds its balance, an alert will show it’s time to reload, and you can do so instantly, right on your device. Commuters can also follow carefully curated navigation instructions to help them get around Japan’s extensive underground tunnel networks.
Apple Pay will support many of the most popular Japanese credit and prepaid cards issued by AEON, Credit Saison, JCB, Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos, Orient Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Card, Toyota Finance, UC Cards and View Card, and carriers KDDI, NTT Docomo and Softbank, representing more than three-quarters of all credit card spending in Japan, with major global and domestic networks like American Express, Mastercard, JCB, iD and QUICPay. Users will continue to receive all of the rewards and benefits offered by their cards.
When you use a credit or prepaid card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on your device.
