Android Pay arrives in Japan with Rakuten Edy

Google's mobile payment system has taken its first step into the Japanese market.

 

Japanese owners of an Android phone running KitKat or higher are able to make use of Android Pay today, provided they use Rakuten Edy.

 

In its announcement, Google said Rakuten Edy is available at over 470,000 locations, with users able to create a new Edy card or use an existing card.

 

Google said that over the next year it plans to work with Felica -- which Apple activated on its devices in October -- as well as Visa, Mastercard, and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.

 

Over recent months, Android Pay has rolled out in Ireland and New Zealand.

 

Irish users need to have a Mastercard or Visa card from AIB and KBC to use Android Pay, while Kiwis need to have a BNZ flexi debit Visa card.

 

In October, Mastercard said it had reached agreements to intregrate MasterPass tokenisation with digital wallet services from Google, Samsung, and Microsoft.

 

Earlier this year, the New South Wales government said it would accept Android Pay at its service centres.

 

ANZ became the first major Australian bank to make Android Pay available and the only bank in Australia to make Apple Pay available to customers earlier this year.