Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, today announced a series of new products in Japan that provide more tools to reach consumers and grow revenue, domestically and internationally.
In response to strong local growth, with Stripe payment volume in Japan expected to grow by 55% in 2023, Stripe is further investing in products tailored to Japanese companies and businesses selling in Japan. New products and features include the ability to work with multiple payment processors through the Vault and Forward API, installments for consumer payment flexibility, and improved verification through Stripe Identity.
“Stripe’s growth in Japan is accelerating, so we’re increasing our investment with new products specifically tailored to this market to make doing business much easier. We’re also opening up our platform so Japanese businesses can use Stripe alongside their existing tools,” said Eileen O’Mara, Stripe’s chief revenue officer.
Stripe launched in Japan in 2015 and now serves many of Japan’s top enterprises, including Toyota, Nikkei, ANA Group, Tokyu, Morisawa, ORIX and more. Stripe also supports global companies such as X, Shopify, Uber, Atlassian and others expanding their operations in Japan.
At Stripe Tour Tokyo, Stripe announced the release of Vault and Forward API to Japanese companies. This enables businesses to adopt Stripe Billing and Stripe Tax while processing payments with other providers. This interoperability is especially helpful for large enterprises who can now take advantage of Stripe’s suite of products without violating other long-term contractual commitments.
Japanese businesses on Stripe will soon be able to offer card installment payments to their customers. In Japan, consumers can choose to pay the entire purchase amount at once (ikkatsu barai, or “one-time payment”) or in installments. Previously, businesses might not receive their funds for up to six months. Stripe’s solution now shortens that time to just four business days.
Stripe already supports a growing list of local payment options, including Konbini (convenience store) payments, bank transfers (known locally as Furikomi) and JCB card acceptance. These are part of Stripe’s Optimized Checkout Suite (OCS), which uses machine learning to show shoppers the most relevant payment methods. OCS supports over 100 payment options and Link, Stripe’s one-click checkout.
Starting today, Japanese businesses can use Stripe Identity to smoothly and securely verify users from over 110 countries, in less than five seconds on average. This is Stripe’s first Identity expansion outside the US and UK. The launch is in response to Japanese businesses’ request for enhanced identification security to combat fraud.
Stripe also announced that Sony Honda Mobility and DeNA are the latest Japanese businesses to adopt its products.
Sony Honda Mobility, a mobility technology joint venture between Sony and Honda, has chosen Stripe to help manage customer data and create a billing and payment system for sales of its new electric vehicle brand, AFEELA.
DeNA, a Japanese mobile portal and e-commerce website provider, will use Stripe to power its VTuber app, IRIAM—a popular virtual live streaming app.