Economy

Application Process Begins for Japan Digital Salary Payment Service Providers

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Employees of Nippon Gas Co. can receive e-money expenses and bonuses

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:19 JST, April 2, 2023

PayPay Corp. applied to enter the digital salary payment business Saturday, when the application process for service providers kicked off.

The largest smartphone payment service was the first major firm to tender a notification to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

KDDI Corp., which provides the au Pay service, reportedly plans to apply as early as Monday, while R Pay operator Rakuten Payment, Inc. and NTT Docomo, Inc. also are considering applying.

Digital salary payments allow employees to receive their wages via payment apps, thus circumventing bank account usage. Up to ¥1 million can be held in an app account following the revision of a related ministerial ordinance in November.

The government hopes the system will give further momentum to cashless payments. Frequent users of payment apps will no longer have to top up money from their bank accounts.

After submitting an application, service providers will be screened by the ministry. It is thought it will take a few months before each service is rolled out. In the event of bankruptcy, firms must repay all related losses.