The Japanese contactless payments landscape has changed considerably since the 2016 launch of Apple Pay. It certainly was the Black Ship arrival turning point that Junya Suzuki predicted, contactless payments, […]
FeliCa - Mobile Payments
Rakuten Mini and me
I love shaggy dog stories, let me rephrase that, I love shaggy dog contactless payment user stories. Sutapa Saito’s Rakuten Mini saga is a fun read that covers the short […]
Transit
Sayonara to the last switchback bus terminal
Niigata Station Bandai Entrance Bus Terminal is the last surviving major switchback style bus terminal in Japan. Service will end in late 2022 as the old Niigata JR East station […]
Mobile Payments
Mobile FeliCa evolution: FeliCa without the FeliCa chip
Mobile FeliCa is a Java Card applet on a secure element (SE). If the right applet is present with the right keys, and the CLF (contactless front-end) is configured to […]
Apple - FeliCa - iPhone
iPhone Japanese marketshare update
I don’t put much faith in market data from companies selling research to sell their other ‘services’. If you ever observed how the backend research process works, you wouldn’t either. […]
Mobile Payments
The contactless payment ramen shop connection
Have you ever noticed that ramen shops in Japan kinda stick together? If there is one, there is another one close by, maybe two or three. And not just ramen […]