China UnionPay’s QR codes have become the one of the first mobile payments platforms to be endorsed by Japan via inclusion in the JPQR barcode standard.
UnionPay International announced the inclusion of UnionPay’s QR codes in the JPQR standard on 3 March 2020.
The Payments Japan Association first released the JPQR standard for QR codes and standard barcodes on 29 March 2019, for official launch on 1 August 2019.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has called for all related businesses in the country – including code-payment companies, gateway businesses and stores, to simultaneously switch their conventional codes to JPQR.
UnionPay’s QR code services are already widely used for mobile payments services by vendors in Japan.
UnionPay cards enjoy over 70% coverage in Japan, while several tens of thousands of vendors provide UnionPay QR code payments.
The UnionPay payments network currently extends to 178 different countries and regions, while its QR codes are usable in 32 countries in Asia, the Middle East and North America.
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