Rakuten Group Rolls out Cashless-Payment Device

Rakuten Group is offering merchants in Japan a new device that handles cashless payments.

The group hopes the terminal will give customers greater access to its affiliated payment services.

Shoppers can use their smartphones, credit cards or digital money with the device. Group company Rakuten Payment is offering it to retailers for free until the end of October.

It's part of a strategy to get more consumers to use services settled via Rakuten Group companies.

One focus is small and medium-sized businesses, including family-type operations. Company officials say cashless payments are slow to spread in this sector.

A Rakuten rival, smartphone-payment provider PayPay, launched its service in 2018.

The Japanese government has a target for cashless settlements to account for about 40 percent of the country's total by 2025.

(Source: NHK WORLD JAPAN)