JR East and PASMO announced a new payment platform called teppay that will be coming to Mobile Suica and Mobile PASMO starting in the fall of 2026. It builds on existing Mobile Suica and Mobile PASMO services and follows an earlier Suica related JR East press that mentioned some new features but not the name or the collaboration with PASMO.
Basic teppay features
Mobile only (plastic Suica and PASMO cards will remain cash only)
¥300,000 balance limit (add money by cash, bank account or VIEW CARD / TBD PASMO cards)
Send/receive teppay balances (apparently limited to local NFC/Bluetooth transactions)
teppay JCB prepaid card (online use only but useful because teppay cannot be directly used for online payment like PayPay)
Regional/store limited ‘campaign goodie’ balance
JCB Smart Code support
Users can add cash at station kiosks or ATM just like regular transit cards, but cannot withdraw cash from teppay. VIEW CARD users who link to teppay can choose direct teppay to VIEW payment or recharge. No details on auto-recharge but I think we can expect some new options beyond what is currently offered in Mobile Suica / PASMO apps and finally be freed from auto-recharge that only works on Suica / PASMO transit gates. At the very least, teppay will be a handy recharge balance to add money to Mobile Suica / Mobile PASMO cards when you’re on the go.
The teppay functionality will be incorporated into updated Mobile Suica and Mobile PASMO apps. There is no plan to release any separate teppay app. This reduces the clutter and confusion of platforms like dBarai and RakutenPay which had separate apps for code payment and reward point use, integration has not been a smooth user experience. Mobile Suica app will receive a major upgrade in spring 2026 that will incorporate most of the JRE POINT app functionality in preparation for teppay integration.
Teppay will be familiar to anyone who has used a popular code payment app like PayPay, dBARAI, auPay, and RakutenPay and puts Mobile Suica and Mobile PASMO on equal footing with the code payment competition. They can finally be used everywhere like PayPay just by scanning a QR code at checkout even when the merchant doesn’t have POS hardware. JR East and PASMO can grow their payment platform beyond the restrictions of the ¥20,000 stored fare balance and POS hardware / software overhead. Success will depend on how well the new features integrate: preserving seamless transit use while adding send/receive balance transfers, regional and store exclusives, coupons and so on. Auto-charge with JR East VIEW CARD is a given but details for Mobile PASMO users will come later.
The most important integration will be how the classic Mobile Suica / Mobile PASMO balance and teppay balance work together. Classic Mobile Suica and PASMO have to remain as a separate ¥20,000 ‘on the device’ balance for compatibility with the Transit IC standard and indeed press conference media coverage reports that Mobile Suica / PASMO card balances remain as they are today with users recharging from a separate larger teppay balance. That makes sense but tighter integration will key for a better user experience. More Auto-reload options, easy balance sharing, and easy, sensible teppay point to JRE POINT/PASMO member point exchange, can make Mobile Suica / Mobile PASMO more useful and essential far beyond the current confines of Tokyo region transit. One example is junior and high school student commuter passes: teppay balance sharing and online teppay purchase of mobile commuter passes will drastically simplify things for parents and kids. There is a lot we won’t find out until the fall of 2026.
The smartest thing about the teppay announcement is JR East inviting PASMO to join forces. Mobile PASMO already uses many parts of the Mobile Suica system, the app is basically a re-branded Mobile Suica app. Having one solution that works seamlessly across the 2 largest Transit IC card user bases makes sense. Users just get a new version of the app they already use. And of course JR East and PASMO now have a much larger float to earn interest. We can be sure JR East cut a deal with PASMO KK to share profits in the coming bonanza. In a larger sense, JR East is adding another new ‘onion layer’ on the Suica platform: layer 1 is cash only plastic Suica, layer 2 is credit card recharge Mobile Suica and now layer 3 teppay. The onion continues to grow and evolve.
The launch is still a year from now. This post will updated with new service details as they become available.
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