Japanese smart cards still looking for smarter ideas
...Sony Corp., which developed the Suica technology, also runs its own smart card service called Edy, short for "euro, dollar, yen." About 2,100 stores in Japan accept the 650,000 or so Edy cards in circulation. ...
But when Sony tried to sell tickets to a recent pop-music concert through Edy -- letting people punch in their Edy numbers on a Web page and then flash their cards at the door -- only about a dozen Edy-holders showed up.
...complaint is that Suica can't be used on the subways, which are run by different railway companies. And shopping with Suica would be nice, the student commuter mused.
The possibilities are enormous.
But the company {JR} -- a former government monopoly that takes pride in a stodgy image of public service rather than competitive marketing -- says it has no immediate plans to expand Suica as an electronic wallet. It says it's still studying the options.
In June, Suica will hook up with Visa and JCB credit cards. But the card merely combines the Suica and credit card into one card.
Their functions aren't electronically linked, so you would still need to go to special machines to add money. The credit card part works like a regular credit card. You just don't have to carry two cards.
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