Mercari, Inc., Merpay, Inc. and NTT DOCOMO, INC., announced today that they have reached an agreement to form a business partnership aimed at developing new businesses and providing users with improved convenience through enhanced payment services and point programs.
Under the partnership, users will be able to link Mercari ID and DOCOMO d ACCOUNT, enabling them to receive one d POINT for every 100 yen (including tax) spent on Mercari and use one d POINT as one yen (including tax) on Mercari from May 2020 (scheduled). Also, the companies will consider expanding existing packing and shipping areas for Mercari sellers to all DOCOMO shops nationwide.
By forming an alliance representing one of the largest user bases in Japan, Mercari, Merpay and DOCOMO expect to offer many other new services. They are currently looking at allowing users to seamlessly and interchangeably use their Merpay and d Barai mobile payment service balances and points and starting this summer (scheduled), users will be able to mutually shop at the partners’ existing and newly acquired merchants. Other possibilities include integrating the partners’ data for new marketing and fintech products and developing new marketing and promotional solutions.
Mercari, one of Japan’s largest marketplace apps, was launched in July 2013 with the goal of becoming a global marketplace where everyone can easily and securely buy and sell new and used items. The service now has approximately 14.5 million monthly users and an annual transaction volume exceeding 500 billion yen (4.58 billion USD).
Merpay, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercari, Inc., launched a mobile payment platform within the Mercari app in February 2019. Merpay now has more than six million users (as of January 2020) and is accepted at 1.7 million merchants and e-commerce sites in Japan. It supports payments via the DOCOMO iD contactless system and QR code, and the unique Merpay Smart Payments system enables users to pay for purchases in the following month.
DOCOMO, which boasts a subscriber base of approximately 73 million users, offers the d POINT CLUB rewards program and d Barai mobile payment service, accepted at some 1.4 million locations in Japan. Since launching in April 2018, d Barai has continued to add features, including wallet functions, QR code and contactless payments, and applications of other companies.
Mercari and DOCOMO began their partnership in April 2015 when they introduced direct-carrier billing services to allow DOCOMO users to pay for Mercari purchases via their monthly phone bills. In April 2019, they launched TsutsuMer Spots, areas to pack and ship items sold on the Mercari app, at selected DOCOMO shops on a trial basis, and from October of the same year they began organizing workshops to teach people how to use the Mercari app. The new partnership will help to expand these activities.
Mercari, Merpay and DOCOMO look forward to offering payment services that enable customers to use points seamlessly between different applications, and promoting cashless services in Japan through initiatives such as joint development of member stores.
