Japan´s Paidy gets strategic investment from Visa

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 (Bernama) -- Paidy Inc, Japan’s first instantly-issued post-pay credit service for ecommerce consumers -- announced an investment from Visa as part of the company’s Series C funding.

Japan is among the world’s fastest growing ecommerce markets, but is also heavily reliant on cash.

Paidy – currently over 1,500,000 users – said both companies are partnering on new digital payment experiences that will give Japanese consumers more options when buying online and in-store.

Visa and Paidy have a shared objective to offer consumers more convenient alternatives to current popular payment methods, like cash on delivery. The companies’ collaboration will also support Paidy’s expansion into new types of services for their customers, a statement said.

Paidy does not require pre-registration or a credit card to use. Paidy consumers purchase products online using a mobile phone number and email address (verification is established though a four-digit code sent via SMS) and settle all their purchases in a single monthly bill.

Paidy also supports instalment and subscription payments.

Visa Regional President of Asia Pacific, Chris Clark said: “In Japan there is enormous opportunity to bring consumers more options to pay, whether all at once or in instalments, especially when shopping across multiple channels.

Founder and Executive Chairman of Paidy, Russell Cummer said: “Through this tie-up, we expect to deliver Paidy’s frictionless and intuitive transactional credit to a much broader audience. Furthermore, by adding new payment functions and diverse financial services, together with Visa, we can promote our vision of removing barriers and create unique consumer experiences for as many people as possible.”

--BERNAMA