Stripe Unveils New Products in Japan to Boost Consumer Reach and Revenue Growth

Stripe, a leading financial infrastructure platform for businesses, today announced a suite of new products tailored for the Japanese market. This expansion comes in response to a significant local growth, with a 55% increase in payment volume in Japan in 2023. The new offerings aim to empower Japanese companies and enterprises selling to Japan, enhancing their ability to reach consumers and grow revenue both domestically and internationally.

The product enhancements include the Vault and Forward API, which allows businesses to integrate multiple payment processors, installment payment options for consumer flexibility, and advanced verification through Stripe Identity. The announcements were made at Stripe Tour Tokyo, the company’s annual internet economy conference in Japan.

“Stripe’s growth in Japan is accelerating, prompting us to introduce new products specifically designed for this market to simplify business operations. We are also opening our platform to allow Japanese enterprises to use Stripe alongside their existing tools,” said Eileen O’Mara, Chief Revenue Officer at Stripe.

Launched in Japan in 2016, Stripe now serves numerous leading enterprises, including Toyota, Nikkei, ANA Group, Tokyu, Morisawa, and ORIX. Additionally, Stripe supports global companies such as X, Shopify, Uber, and Atlassian as they expand into Japan.

Enhancing Japan’s Open Ecosystem

At Stripe Tour Tokyo, Stripe introduced its Vault and Forward API to Japanese businesses. This API enables companies to utilize Stripe Billing and Stripe Tax while processing payments with other providers. This interoperability is particularly beneficial for large enterprises, allowing them to leverage Stripe’s suite of products without violating existing long-term contracts.

Faster Payouts with Installment Payments

Japanese businesses on Stripe will soon be able to offer installment payments to their customers, who can choose between paying the full amount upfront or in installments. Previously, businesses had to wait up to six months to receive funds; Stripe’s new solution reduces this to just four business days.

Stripe already supports a variety of local payment options, including Konbini (convenience store) payments, bank transfers (Furikomi), and JCB cards, through its Optimized Checkout Suite (OCS). OCS uses machine learning to present the most relevant payment methods to buyers and supports over 100 payment options, including Link, Stripe’s one-click checkout. This is especially advantageous as more Japanese businesses expand internationally. In 2023, cross-border acquiring volume increased by more than 65%, with a quarter of Japan-based businesses on Stripe now selling internationally. Businesses using OCS have seen an average revenue increase of 11.9%.

Reducing Fraud with Stripe Identity

Starting today, Japanese businesses can use Stripe Identity to verify users from over 110 countries in under five seconds on average. This marks Stripe’s first expansion of Identity outside the US and UK, driven by the increasing demand for enhanced identification security to combat fraud. In 2023, credit card fraud losses in Japan hit a record 54 billion yen, a 20% increase from the previous year.

Adoption by Japanese Enterprises

Stripe also announced that Sony Honda Mobility and DeNA are the latest Japanese enterprises to adopt its products. Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between Sony and Honda, will use Stripe to manage customer data and create a billing and payment system for its new electric vehicle brand, AFEELA. DeNA, a provider of mobile portal and e-commerce websites, will use Stripe for its VTuber application, IRIAM, ensuring a smooth payment experience and effective fraud management.

Stripe continues to be recognized as a Leader in the Forrester Wave™ for Merchant Payment Providers and the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Retail Online Payment Platform Software Providers.