Japan wants to go cashless, but elderly aren’t so keen

Japan's cash is king
For the aging population of a country that still lives
Reluctant to give up.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to make Japan more
The world's most dedicated cash holders, switch to cashless use
Payment is bringing some success
want.

Increasing rankings of pensioners across the country
Japan resists change
Stay in Mobile App Payments and Electronic Money Adoption

Tokyo is trying to double the cashless payment rate.
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Japan is 96{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} compared with other countries
66{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} of transactions in Korea and China are cashless data
Japan Association Show Paying In Industrial Lobby.

The transition to digital trading will help Japan cope
Cashless population with reduced population and tight labor market
Payment also allows stores to automate sales estimates
Banks cut down on expensive ATM networks.

Shoppers recently recommended throwing away cash with electronic money
Government
Rebate program to alleviate the pain of sales tax hikes on October 1.

Grants invest $ 2.57 billion for shoppers
If you use cashless payments, you can get a refund in the form of points
In small shops and convenience stores.

Jumping on a bad balance

Large companies are aggressive campaigns
Promotion of electronic money payment systems, including SoftBank Group
E-Commerce Company, Yahoo Japan Corp
Mercari and messaging app operator LINE Corp.

Some had early success.

QR code payment app
PayPay jointly owned by SoftBank and Yahoo Japan
Membership has increased to 5 million and 15 million since August.
Participated in a government campaign

East Railway Co., Ltd.
Railway's electronic payment system exceeded 11 million people
It's been over a million since September.

"Customers benefit from the convenience of electronic
Get paid and get paid while paying.
There is no expression. "Said Tomoyuki Soyama, General Manager.
IT business development of the East Railway. "that is
For everyone. "

Direct costs including cash transactions
Labor at the checkout, about $ 736 billion
This year, Mizuho Financial Group
Without cash, such costs are greatly reduced.

Vice President, Kumagai Satoshi
Convenience store financial services and digital business
Chain operator Lawson Inc, said no cash ratio
Payouts increased from 25{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} in October to 20{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} previously.

"It would be ideal to see all transactions being cashed
To increase labor shortage and convenience
Kumagai said.

"On the other hand, we need to find a way to help them.
Old man who can be difficult to shop without cash. "

Hoarding cash

Japanese households spend more than half of their assets
Cash and deposit. The proportion is for the elderly, some
Stick to cash to prevent wasteful spending.

"Does everyone like cash?" 65 year old woman
Tokyo said while looking at the cashless payment app banner.

"I am not interested in cashless. I feel uncomfortable.
Also not sure how in case you lose your phone
Compared to making money from your wallet. "

Many small businesses
Cashless payments, or very little benefit.

Mom and Pop stores rely on their daily cash income
Said you can't rely on bonds too
Yukio Kawano, chairman of the lobby of the Japanese supermarket industry.

Less than half of the approximately 2 million small businesses deemed eligible
Subsidies for cashless payments
Government campaigns for machine introduction costs
High transaction fees.

Low crime rates, ultra-low interest rates and national
ATM's web has long made attractive cash in Japan.
People have very few incentives to switch to cashless payments.

But the trend may change gradually commercially
Banks integrate ATMs to reduce consumer access.
cash.

Still, persuade older people to account for almost one third
It will not be easy to change their practices.

In Tokyo's bustling shopping district of Yanaka
Ginza, many small shops haven't received cash yet
task.

Mitsuo Kotake, a 70-year-old small florist,
Three months ago I started providing PayPay.

But entering a pin code and setting up the app are also simple
Most seniors are confused by coming customers
He added to buy flowers for the tombs of loved ones.

"Youth are easy to use, but older people aren't used to it." "I don't use cash. Cash is the fastest."

Source: Reuters