It’s still pretty hard to get by in Japan without cash, but the cashless payment trend is slowly catching on. From train cards to PayPay, and even Apple Pay there are a few easy ways to go cashless in Japan and free up space in your pockets.
Here is an overview of the most popular, seamless payment options to go cashless in Japan for both travelers and long-time residents.
Suica/Pasmo
Suica or Pasmo transportation cards are super useful in Japan. You can use them not just for trains and buses, but also to pay for things like vending machines, taxis, convenience stores, restaurants, drug stores, and shopping centers. This makes them a great way to go cashless in Japan. To see where you can use Suica, see here or just look for the Suica/Pasmo logo.
If you don’t want the hassle of carrying a physical train card around all day, add a Suica or Pasmo to your Apple Wallet. All you need to do is open the Apple Wallet app, click the ‘add transit card’ option, and enter the amount of money you want to put on it.
There are a few requirements to add yours smoothly.
- An iPhone 8 / Apple Watch 3 or later model.
- Apple Pay payment card in Wallet for adding money to Suica.
- Your Apple ID set up for two-factor authentication.
Charging your card is super easy – just add on the money at any ticket machine at the train station, or recharge at retailers that display the Suica/Pasmo logo.
PayPay
With the termination of the once-popular Line Pay service scheduled for April 30, 2025. There’s another easy-to-use method to go cashless in Japan that’s gaining traction. It works like a prepaid card and it’s available for users in English or Japanese with no fees or minimum balance required to open an account, however, there are some documents you need to have to use PayPay, check out the requirements here.
To use, you can scan a QR code at the cash register or the merchant can scan a barcode that comes up on your app. Just look out for the red P trademark to see where you can use PayPay. You can collect points each time you use PayPay.
There are three ways you can charge your account: through your bank account, adding money through an ATM, or with your credit card.
Wise debit card
It’s pretty hard to get a debit card in Japan as a foreigner. Luckily for those of us who want the option to go cashless in Japan, there is the Wise international debit card. Once you have a Wise account, you can order a debit card that can be used in 160 countries while holding 40 different currencies.
It’s free to use it for currencies that you hold in your account i.e. if you have Japanese yen in your Wise account, then it’ll be free for you to spend that money. Otherwise, there is a low currency conversion fee and no transaction fees. Wise helps both individuals and organizations, learn more about Wise here.
Apple Pay
While Apple Pay hasn’t really caught on in Japan as much as it has in other countries, it can still be used at any establishments that offer contactless payment in Japan. You can conveniently use Apple Pay anywhere you see these contactless payment symbols indicating that the store accepts contactless payment options.
Other ways to go cashless in Japan
In reality, there are more options to go cashless in Japan available than you could ever need. Some of the other commonly accepted ones include R Pay, which is connected to Rakuten and allows you to earn Rakuten reward points. And Origami, which has tens of thousands of merchants in Japan.
With all the above options widely accepted in Japan, which cashless payment option you should use is really up to you. The biggest differences between the options are their reward systems, coupon offerings and what discounts, if any, you can get on your purchases. We recommend visiting each platform’s website to see what the benefits are.
Want to learn more about life in Japan? Make sure to check the other articles on our blog.
