Apple Pay Suica Inbound first time user experiences are endlessly fascinating and educational. What’s obvious and works for people who live in Tokyo, isn’t the case for visitors. The Cup of Tech podcast from July 16 highlights the frustration of not being able to pay for everything with credit/debit cards, and a positive first time Apple Pay Suica use experience.
The 5 minute mark is the tech low point: the state of cashless payments in Japan, but there is no color on what kinds of stores or businesses did not accept credit cards, and the comment about using PASMO and Suica for payment is weird: “It’s usually one or the other, it’s not both…. so I guess you have to have both.” I guess Zach never figured out that Japanese transit cards are compatible with each other.
The 6 minute mark is the tech highpoint: using Apple Pay Suica which Zach assumed he could not use because he read somewhere that, ‘you could only do this on phones sold in Japan.’ Fortunately he found out that his Apple Watch works with Apple Pay Suica and discovered the joys of using Suica Express Transit and recharging with Apple Pay on the go.
Both experiences make it clear that most people visiting Japan with global NFC iPhones are completely unaware of Apple Pay Suica and the ease of adding it to Wallet with the super simple SuicaEng app (which Zach highlights in a later podcast). I know because in 2 years of hosting a Apple Pay Suica guide, the page view analytics show that not many people are actively searching for Apple Pay Suica information in English.
JR East has done many Apple Pay Suica campaigns aimed at Japanese commuters, it is time that JR East and Apple create an English language Apple Pay Suica campaign for tourists that covers the ease of adding it and using it. Plaster the stations, wrap the trains. Waiting to do everything in 2020 for the Tokyo Olympics is waiting too long.
Update: I forgot to mention that a campaign from JR East and Apple can also help counter the 7pay QR Code security meltdown scandal that has poisoned contactless payments for everybody, even for FeliCa NFC, which has a long successful security track record and absolutely nothing to do with QR.