MasterCard’s latest index has called the country a promising marketplace.
The most recent results of the MasterCard Mobile Payments Readiness Index have shown that Japan is one of the countries that will provide the most positive mcommerce environment for these transactions.
In fact, among 34 analyzed countries, Japan held the sixth spot from the top.
The analysis of the countries is designed to determine their readiness based on their overall mcommerce marketplace, and how ideal they would be for mobile payments to be adopted. It focused on three types of transaction:
• Contactless payments at a brick and mortar store’s point of sale
• Mcommerce purchases
• Person to person funds transfers and exchanges.
Japan’s mcommerce environment scored very high on the majority of the components that were measured.
One of the strongest factors in mcommerce in Japan that makes it appear very ready for the adoption of mobile payments is its consumer readiness. People in Japan appear to be prepared to give the technology a try.
That said, it should still be pointed out that MasterCard found that consumers in Japan did not appear to be ready to adopt all three of the measured forms of transaction. Their primary interest appears to be in the purchases made directly over mcommerce. Only 20 percent of consumers in Japan stated that they were familiar with the ability to make a contactless payment at a store’s point of sale checkout counter. Among them, only 8 percent said that they would be willing to actually use this method of completing a purchase.
According to MasterCard’s data, there is a notable barrier presented by this gap between the consumer familiarity with the concept and their actual willingness to give it a try and use it as a regular method of payment. The report stated that this gap will need to shrink before adoption will accelerate in any meaningful way.
The areas in which Japan’s scores were exceptionally high were in mcommerce clusters, financial services, and in the overall infrastructure. The Index showed that Japanese consumers have the widest number of financial services available to them when compared to any other country in the world.
