East Japan Railway (JR East) officially launched its new digital payment service, teppay, on Tuesday, marking the railway operator's move into Japan's fiercely competitive electronic payments market.
According to JR East, teppay is intended to compete with popular digital payment platforms, including PayPay. The move signals that Japan's largest railway company is expanding beyond its traditional transportation business.
The launch comes as Japan's cashless payment market continues to grow, with the participation of numerous technology and financial giants. JR East hopes the new service will draw on the large customer base that uses its railway network.
Details on teppay's features, rollout scope and accompanying promotional programs have not yet been fully disclosed in initial information.
