Tokyo Stories

Tobacco Institute of Japan has introduced a card called Taspo - a card using near field technology (NFC) which can only be issued to adults (in Japan's definition, that is over 20 years old). The card is mandatory for purchasing cigarettes from vending machines. The service is gradually introduced from south of Japan since last year, and completes its introduction as of July 1st.

Acquiring this card requires some tedious process - another form filling - which I consider as the way to keep Japanese feel busy all the time. In addition, you should attach your identification to prove that you are over 20 and a photograph. After doing all these, you will get a card in two weeks. I am not a smoker, but I imagine no one has got time for this. Smokers, have you made yourself a Taspo card?

According to the association, there are 26 million smokers in Japan; and only 24% of them have purchased the card.

Naturally, many people shifted their point of purchase from vending machines to supermarkets and convenience stores. According to Mainichi online news, some say vending machine profit decreased by 20%. This could be a serious issue for small shop owners since they typically place these vending machines in front of their shops.

Because this is simply due to the tedious process of Taspo card issuance, many shopkeepers have started obvious solutions like hanging the card from the vending machine (see image below).



If the system does not work, what should they have done instead? In Germany, they have managed to use chip-integrated credit/debit cards instead of issuing a complete new set of cards. It is true that most Japanese cards do not contain chips -- but hey, Japan is a country with so many sophisticated NFC card systems. Many vending machines have already integrated Suica system, too, why couldn't cigarettes be the same?

The more you think about it, the way this card works is very similar to Suica and other  transportation/top-up cards. The machine not only reads the information on the card to allow you to buy a pack, but also writes data - so you can walk to the vending machine to top up the card and later you can purchase cigarettes with this card alone.

In essence, Taspo is another card that does the same thing. What is beyond comprehension from a mere consumer is all these similar technologies introduced under different companies and names. SUICA card issued by Japan Rail is well known, but in fact, there were times this technology only worked for Eastern Japan. Western Japan Rail introduced ICOCA, and they were not compatible with each for some time after the technology being introduced. A railway company called Tokyu also introduced Pasmo last year, and it took some time before many of us understood that both SUICA and Pasmo pretty much does the same thing - enables us to ride on most of the public transportations in metropolitan area.

What we are experiencing is the repeated history of what we have already seen with the flood of credit cards. Different department stores and supermarket chains issue their own credit cards with point system which seem beneficial if you purchase things from their shops. In some sense top-up cards are worse because on top of the NFC card you need to subscribe to a credit card which allows you to automatically top it up. I hope that someone realizes that in many other countries, things are way simpler because of debit cards. What I need, is a NFC card with debit services, that directly remit cash from your account. Nothing more, no points and possible benefits I could get.

The website explains that once you purchase everything is easy. I hope the smokers feel the same way about obtaining and carrying another card.

Instructions on ID cards for vending machines (in German, info from my colleague Ti): http://karte-rein-packung-raus.de/infos_zur_geldkarte/kartencheck.php

Taspo Official website (English): http://www.taspo.jp/english/index.html

"I cannot live without mobile Suica," says a male friend in 30s. He said he basically stopped carrying coins, which used to occupy his trouser pockets.

This sounds like a great success story. Mobile Suica service enabled him to use his mobile phone for small payments and have replace his heavy coins. But how widely is this phenomena spread?

According to Ke-tai White Paper 2008's survey report, 60% of their respondents told they have a phone capable of the feature. Among them, 15% actually uses mobile payment. That is not really high. Partly I blame this to the tedious registration process that you have to go through. Considering how easy it is to get one of those Suica cards in JR stations, I clearly see that there is a room for improvement.

One interesting finding was the usage rate differences between genders. Men using mobile payment reached 20% while women 10%; in particular, for men between 10 and 19, the usage rate reached 30%.

The same report also talks about how much they spend per payment. 80% told that a typical payment is below 1000 yen (about 6 EUR). Since in Japan the smallest bill is 1000 yen, it exactly confirms my friend's earlier comment: These cards replace coins.