Osaka Expo to Be Cashless
12:31 JST, April 5, 2023
The 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo is likely to be a cashless event, utilizing a dedicated electronic money app called the Expo Digital Wallet, it has been learned.
It would be the first time a World Expo has been entirely cashless.
The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition expects to attract about 28.2 million visitors to the six-month event, which kicks off in April 2025.
By going cashless, the organizers hope to reduce crowding at cash registers, mitigate the spread of viruses, and accelerate the rollout of digital transactions in Japan.
Visitors will have to download the digital wallet app on their smartphones and add funds from their bank accounts or credit cards. The Expo organizer is also planning to let visitors pay by credit card, transportation IC card or QR code. Visitors without smartphones will be able to purchase prepaid cards.
An Expo loyalty scheme will also be launched, and visitors will be able to use accrued points at the event. The organizers will also ask stores outside the Expo venue to accept the loyalty points.
Last year, the organizers selected Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Resona Holdings Inc., SBI Holdings Inc. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. to process the cashless payments.
The companies, which have been jointly working on the design and operation of the payment system, will provide more than 900 terminals free of charge and develop the system with a view to utilizing it after the Expo.
"Society" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Typhoon Kong-rey to Reach South of Japan’s Okinawa on Thursday; JWA Urges High Alert for Strong Winds, Heavy Rain
-
Typhoon Trami Forms East of Philippines, Moving Westward
-
Typhoon Kong-rey Expected to Turn into Tropical Storm after Possible Pass Over Taiwan
-
Sapporo Sees Season’s 1st Snowfall; Snow Comes 8 Days Earlier Than Average
-
‘Women Over 30 Would Have Uteruses Removed’; Remarks of CPJ Leader, Novelist Naoki Hyakuta Get Wide Attention
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Streaming Services Boost Anime Popularity Overseas; Former ‘Geeky’ Interest More Beloved Among Gen Z than 3 Major U.S. Sports
- G20 Sees Soft Landing for Global Economy; Leaders Pledge to Resist Protectionism as Trump Calls for Imported Goods Flat Tariff
- Japanese Automakers Team Up on Software Development; Aim to Compete with U.S., China in SDV Market
- 2024 POLLS: Ruling Camp Likely to Win Lower House Majority
- Chinese Social Media Still Full of Anti-Japanese Posts 1 Month After Boy’s Fatal Stabbing; Malicious Videos Gain Large Number of Views