Smart phones pay for train tickets
Some 10 million Japanese commuters use smart cards embedded with a computer chip to pay for train tickets and slip by station gates with just a tap of their plastic on special reading devices.
With a service planned for launch in January next year, they’ll be able to use their mobile phones in place of the cards to pay for their train fares.
The Suica electronic train-fare system uses chip technology called FeliCa, which is also used in other kinds of electronic cash cards.
The cards are embedded with a tiny computer chip that permits instantaneous payments without the hassle of coins.
Some phones already have an IC chip in them and can be used for purchases at stores that have electronic panels that can read the cards.
But so far, the phones haven’t been compatible with the widespread smart-card system for trains that began about three years ago.
The companies will test out the new service in March and hope to attract a million people next year, they said.
They hope it was boost the already massive IC chip usage as the Japanese are among the most avid users of mobile phones in the world, including various net-linking features such as restaurant guides, news, e-mail and karaoke.
Users will also be able to use their phones to pay at some restaurants, convenience stores and shops.
The service will later be expanded to include online shopping and reserved ticket purchases, the companies said.
