In an attempt to change the deep-rooted cash culture in Japan, Softbank Corp. is hoping to create a business opportunity here by teaming up with U.S.-based PayPal Inc.
The country's third-largest cellphone company and the world's leading online settlement service provider plan to soon set up a joint venture, PayPal Japan Inc., and launch a credit card payment service called PayPal Here, which they hope will significantly increase the use of credit cards in Japan.
PayPal Here is a massively discounted credit card reader that can be plugged into a smartphone. The smartphone sends the person's credit card data to PayPal Japan over a 3G cellphone network or Wi-Fi Internet connection, with all the transaction processes settled over the phone, including the signature.