Apple Pay coming to Japan with iPhone 7

When Maps launches support for transit in Japan with iOS 10 in October, Apple Pay users can map out and pay for their entire commute, including major train, subway, ferry and national bus lines, on their iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2, based on updated fare and schedule information. If you have a Suica card added to Apple Pay and are planning a route that exceeds its balance, an alert will show it’s time to reload, and you can do so instantly, right on your device. Commuters can also follow carefully curated navigation instructions so it’s easy to get around Japan’s extensive underground tunnel networks.

Apple Pay will support many of the most popular Japanese credit and prepaid cards issued by AEON, Credit Saison, JCB, Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos, Orient Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Card, Toyota Finance, UC Cards and View Card, and carriers KDDI, NTT Docomo and Softbank, representing more than three-quarters of all credit card spending in Japan, with major global and domestic networks like American Express, Mastercard, JCB, iD and QUICPay. Users will continue to receive all of the rewards and benefits offered by their cards.

Beginning in October, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2 users will be able to make purchases in stores anywhere Suica, iD or QUICPay is accepted, encompassing nearly two-thirds of all transactions at Japan’s largest merchants. In addition to Apple Stores in Japan, leading retailers that will accept Apple Pay include convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Circle K, Family Mart, Lawson, Ministop and Sunkus, supermarkets such as AEON, APITA and PIAGO, gas stations including ENEOS and Esso Mobil General, retailers like BicCamera, Matsumoto Kiyoshi and Uniqlo, and favorite local brands such as JapanTaxi and Sukiya.