Nanaco (trademarked in lowercase as nanaco) is a prepaid cash-rechargeable contactless

electronic money Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital cu ...

card, and point based

loyalty program A loyalty program or rewards program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of one or more businesses associated with the program. Single-company vs. coalition programs Loyalty progr ...

used at

Seven & I Holdings Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (株式会社セブン&アイ・ホールディングス, ) is a Japanese diversified retail holdings company headquartered in Nibanchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Nibanchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo. On September 1, 2005, it was esta ...

–owned stores in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, which are

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings. The chain was founde ...

convenience stores,

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,400 Restaurant, restaurants in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and several other internationa ...

restaurants, and

Ito-Yokado is a Japanese Hypermarket, general merchandise, shopping center, grocery store and department store originally founded in 1920. In 2005, it was reorganized, as part of a corporate restructuring, as a subsidiary of the Seven & I Holdings Co. ...

merchandise stores. In addition, Nanaco can be used at more than 7,000 third party stores outside the company's group, like

Sogo is a department store chain with a significant presence in Japan. It operates a network of branches in various countries and has a long history dating back to 1830 when it was founded in Osaka by Ihei Sogō. The company is known for its retail ...

and

Seibu Department Stores is a Japanese depato, department store. The first store to trade under the name opened its doors in 1949. Seibu is typical of Japanese department stores with a wide variety of stores doing business on several floors. The company is now a subsid ...

Nanaco cards can be instantly issued at all

convenience stores in Japan, after completing an application form. It is similar to other point based loyalty cards as users can earn points and use them for purchases or discounts. As of March 2016, 45 million nanaco cards have been issued, and 215,300 stores accept nanaco payment.

History

*April 23, 2007 – pilot program launched at 1,500 7-Eleven stores in Tokyo *May 2007 – service is expanded nationwide at all 7-Eleven stores *September 3, 2007 – Nanaco card charging service begins at Seven Bank ATMs *October 10, 2007 – 5 million cards distributed *February 2008 – Nanaco cards accepted at all Denny's restaurants *March 25, 2008 – Nanaco cards accepted at Ito-Yokado stores *June 1, 2008 – Credit card charging service starts for IY Card branded credit cards (later renamed as Seven Card) *March 30, 2010 – Nanaco cards accepted at Coca-Cola multi-money vending machines *March 31, 2010 – 10 million cards distributed *April 18, 2014 – The number of monthly transactions exceeded 100 million Supplied by IY Card Service Co., Ltd. (later renamed Seven Card Service Co., Ltd.), a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd., Nanaco is available as Nanaco card (

plastic card Plastic cards usually serve as identity documents, thus providing authentication. In combination with other assets that complement the data stored on the card, like Personal identification number, PIN numbers, they also serve authorization purpose ...

) and Nanaco mobile (

Osaifu-Keitai , which means "Wallet Mobile", is the standard mobile payment system in Japan. Osaifu-Keitai services include electronic money, identity card, loyalty card, fare collection of public transits (including railways, buses, and airplanes), or credi ...

application for mobile phones with embedded contactless chip). The Nanaco format also features a postpay function (on the QUICPay scheme), which was made available to IY Card (since renamed "Seven Card") credit card holders since the summer of 2007. Purchases with Nanaco earn points, which can later be used to make more purchases. The cards uses

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

FeliCa FeliCa is a contactless RFID smart card system from Sony in Japan, primarily used in electronic money cards. The name stands for ''Felicity Card''. First utilized in the Octopus card system in Hong Kong, the technology is used in a variety of cards ...

technology, which is also used in a wide variety of contactless smart cards including

Suica Suica () is a prepaid rechargeable contactless smart card and electronic money system used as a fare card on train lines and other public transport systems in Japan, launched on November 18, 2001, by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The ...

Edy Edy, provided by Rakuten, Inc. in Japan is a prepaid rechargeable contactless smart card. While the name derives from euro, dollar, and yen, it works with yen only. History Edy was launched on January 18, 2001, by BitWallet, with financing ...

, and Pasmo. Services began on April 23, 2007, and the number of members is more than 3.8 million as of end-June 2007. "Nana" means "seven" in Japanese, and the giraffe's head and neck is in the shape of the number "7", in reference to "7-Eleven" and "Seven & i Holdings". The "Nanaco card" issued by Seven-Eleven Japan became the most frequently used e-wallet within three months after it was introduced in April 2007.

References

External links

* {{Japanese smartcards 7-Eleven Contactless smart cards Japanese brands