FamilyMart will broaden the types of foreign credit cards that can be used to pay for purchases at its stores in Japan starting next month, adding popular issuers in China and South Korea.
The convenience store chain will begin accepting payments made with three types of cards — China’s UnionPay card, which is carried by many foreigners visiting Japan; Shinhan Card, which is the most-issued credit card in South Korea; and Discover Card, the third-most-popular card in the U.S.
The cards will be accepted at all 11,500 of FamilyMart’s stores in Japan, making the company the first major convenience store operator to accept all three cards at all of its locations. Due to the large cost of introducing systems to handle payments made with the cards, most of the stores will not accept debit cards.Starting Feb. 1, new ATMs will be installed in some 4,000 stores that will enable customers with the Ginren Card to withdraw Japanese currency. At the same time, automated foreign exchange machines will be installed to let customers convert foreign currency into yen.
The moves, which are intended to attract foreigners to stores, come in anticipation of strong shopping demand by visitors to Japan during the Lunar New Year in February, when many foreigners visit the country.
Source: Nikkei Image: Bank Image
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