See the original story in Japanese. Mobile payments startup Coiney and online shop builder Stores.jp — both of Japan — announced on Wednesday that the two companies have set up a stock holding company called Hey, in order to integrate their business operations. Yusuke Sato, Director of FreakOut Holdings (TSE:6094), and Naoko Samata, co-founder and CEO of Coiney, were respectively appointed President and Executive Vice President of this holding company. Both Coiney and Stores.jp started their services back in 2012. Total volume transacted on these two platforms have grown 10 times in three years since their launch back in January of 2015. With the business merger, both companies will expand their target to small companies in rural areas of Japan and popular influencers such as merchants. We were told that the two platforms are planning to launch new services with the aim of helping merchants improve their business and service experience. Japanese mobile payments startup Coiney raises $7.1 million Japanese payments startup Coiney looks back on key metrics from its first year Japanese mobile payment startup Coiney starts selling its card reader on Amazon Japan Japanese mobile payments processor Coiney secures $8M in funding Japanese mobile payments processor Coiney raises…
L to R: Hey’s executive team – Ayana Tsukahara, Naoko Samata, Yusuke Sato, Yusuke Mitsumoto
Mobile payments startup Coiney and online shop builder Stores.jp — both of Japan — announced on Wednesday that the two companies have set up a stock holding company called Hey, in order to integrate their business operations. Yusuke Sato, Director of FreakOut Holdings (TSE:6094), and Naoko Samata, co-founder and CEO of Coiney, were respectively appointed President and Executive Vice President of this holding company.
Both Coiney and Stores.jp started their services back in 2012. Total volume transacted on these two platforms have grown 10 times in three years since their launch back in January of 2015. With the business merger, both companies will expand their target to small companies in rural areas of Japan and popular influencers such as merchants. We were told that the two platforms are planning to launch new services with the aim of helping merchants improve their business and service experience.
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Coiney, the Japanese mobile payments startup, announced today that it has completed a 800 million yen funding as the sum of investment from Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), SBI Investment and Dentsu Digital Holdings (DDH) as well as bank borrowing from Seibu Shinkin Bank. Financial details of the deal such as the investment ratio and the payment date have not been disclosed. The company claims that it will use the funds to increase engineers as well as strengthen their sales and marketing team for expanding their payments solution and services: Coiney Terminal (smartphone-based payments solution for real stores), Coiney Payge (web-based payments solution for online transactions) in addition to Coiney Engine. Coiney Engine uses artificial intelligence to offer an evaluation of business enterprises based on the accumulation of payments history and various statistical data from the Coiney Terminal and Coiney Payge services. It is used to see the credibility of a company when they apply for business loans from banks partnering with the payments startup. See also: New partnerships announced in Japanese payments processing space Japanese payments startup Coiney looks back on key metrics from its first year Japanese mobile payment startup…
Coiney Payge now available in six languages. Image credit: Coiney
Tokyo-based Coiney, the Japanese mobile payments startup, announced today that it has completed a 800 million yen funding as the sum of investment from Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), SBI Investment and Dentsu Digital Holdings (DDH) as well as bank borrowing from Seibu Shinkin Bank. Financial details of the deal such as the investment ratio and the payment date have not been disclosed.
The company claims that it will use the funds to increase engineers as well as strengthen their sales and marketing team for expanding their payments solution and services: Coiney Terminal (smartphone-based payments solution for real stores), Coiney Payge (web-based payments solution for online transactions) in addition to Coiney Engine.
Coiney Engine uses artificial intelligence to offer an evaluation of business enterprises based on the accumulation of payments history and various statistical data from the Coiney Terminal and Coiney Payge services. It is used to see the credibility of a company when they apply for business loans from banks partnering with the payments startup.
Japanese payments startup Coiney started out back in March of 2013, now just over a year later the company has released an infographic outlining some of their key metrics during that period. You can view the graphic, which is in Japanese, below, but here are some selected points that stand out: 42.7% of the service’s users are from the capital Tokyo. the average age of a Coiney user is about 45. That seems surprisingly old to me, as I’d have guess their demographics to skew a little younger. 81% of their users are male. 53% are corporate users, while 47% are small businesses 19% of users fall in the so-called ‘gourmet’, which we assume means restaurants and other food-related retailers.
Japanese payments startup Coiney started out back in March of 2013, now just over a year later the company has released an infographic outlining some of their key metrics during that period.
You can view the graphic, which is in Japanese, below, but here are some selected points that stand out:
42.7% of the service’s users are from the capital Tokyo.
the average age of a Coiney user is about 45. That seems surprisingly old to me, as I’d have guess their demographics to skew a little younger.
81% of their users are male.
53% are corporate users, while 47% are small businesses
19% of users fall in the so-called ‘gourmet’, which we assume means restaurants and other food-related retailers.
Japanese mobile payments startup Coiney has just begun selling Coiney Reader smartphone/tablet attachment over on Amazon Japan. The credit card reader device (pictured above, not dissimilar to that of Square) can be purchased as of today for 2580 yen (or about $25). The company is expanding its business, and just moved into a new office in Ebisu, Tokyo this week (also pictured below).
Japanese mobile payments startup Coiney has just begun selling Coiney Reader smartphone/tablet attachment over on Amazon Japan. The credit card reader device (pictured above, not dissimilar to that of Square) can be purchased as of today for 2580 yen (or about $25).
The company is expanding its business, and just moved into a new office in Ebisu, Tokyo this week (also pictured below).
See the original story in Japanese. Following the AirRegi-Freee partnership we just reported this morning, Tokyo-based Money Forward, another cloud-based accounting platform, has just announced a partnership with mobile payments service Coiney. For retailers, the partnership between these two companies will enable them to avoid entering invoices to Money Forward for any sale paid using Coiney, thanks to an automated data transfer made possible by their new integration. Money Forward will be integrated with 1,420 third-party services (such as online banking services, online brokerages, or reward point management systems) through this partnership. Money Forward has already integrated with many other Japanese startups like Base (e-commerce platform), Crowdworks (a crowdsourced jobs platform), and S-cubisum (tablet-based point-of-sales solution) back in February. According to Money Forward, they’re also in talks with several other companies about possible partnerships. So it will be interesting to see if we have more news coming from them in the near future..
Following the AirRegi-Freee partnership we just reported this morning, Tokyo-based Money Forward, another cloud-based accounting platform, has just announced a partnership with mobile payments service Coiney.
For retailers, the partnership between these two companies will enable them to avoid entering invoices to Money Forward for any sale paid using Coiney, thanks to an automated data transfer made possible by their new integration. Money Forward will be integrated with 1,420 third-party services (such as online banking services, online brokerages, or reward point management systems) through this partnership.
Money Forward has already integrated with many other Japanese startups like Base (e-commerce platform), Crowdworks (a crowdsourced jobs platform), and S-cubisum (tablet-based point-of-sales solution) back in February. According to Money Forward, they’re also in talks with several other companies about possible partnerships. So it will be interesting to see if we have more news coming from them in the near future..
Recruit Life Style, a subsidiary of Japan’s Recruit Holdings, and US-based payment processing company Square announced yesterday they will integrate Recruit’s register tablet app AirRegi and Square’s payment service Square Register later this month. Both companies jointly started accepting applications from store owners for a combination of these services. At the same time, Japanese payment company Coiney also announced yesterday that it has partnered with NTT East. Coiney’s card-swiping solution will be integrated NTT East’s tablet-based register app Raku Regi, and through this partnership store owners using a combination of their technologies will no longer need to enter the billing amount into two different terminals. On a related note, tabled-based register app Yubiregi partnered with cloud-based accounting solution Freee last October, providing convenience for their users in a somewhat similar way. These integrations can reduce time-consuming work when closing the register at the end of the day, helping retail store owners concentrate on more primary tasks.
At the same time, Japanese payment company Coiney also announced yesterday that it has partnered with NTT East. Coiney’s card-swiping solution will be integrated NTT East’s tablet-based register app Raku Regi, and through this partnership store owners using a combination of their technologies will no longer need to enter the billing amount into two different terminals.
On a related note, tabled-based register app Yubiregipartnered with cloud-based accounting solution Freee last October, providing convenience for their users in a somewhat similar way. These integrations can reduce time-consuming work when closing the register at the end of the day, helping retail store owners concentrate on more primary tasks.
The quality of start-ups nominated for tonight’s CNet Japan Startup Awards is high, and Japanese entrepreneurs are seeking to solve problems on par with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. This is part seven of our preview of the nominees. The rest can be found here. Tokyo Otaku Mode Tokyo Otaku Mode (or TOM) is the 500 Startup graduate that exploded on the startup scene with a massive Facebook presence. The most fascinating part about TOM is how its growth trajectory has been the reverse of most startups. The normal flow goes something like this: a few entrepreneurs have an idea, build their product, then market it. But TOM started out by building a massive Facebook following of millions of fans. Since TOM hit critical mass on Facebook, it has been trying to figure out a problem most entrepreneurs would love to have: Well, we have reach. What’s next? From building iOS and Android apps, to an Etsy-like UGC strategy, it’s been fun watching them stumble uphill. Or as one of their angel investors, Craig Mod, perfectly summed up, “building their shrine”. Freee Like Quickbooks, BodeTree, Xero, Yendo, Zoho, et al., Freee is a cloud based software that helps small businesses with their…
The quality of start-ups nominated for tonight’s CNet Japan Startup Awards is high, and Japanese entrepreneurs are seeking to solve problems on par with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. This is part seven of our preview of the nominees. The rest can be found here.
Tokyo Otaku Mode
Tokyo Otaku Mode
Tokyo Otaku Mode (or TOM) is the 500 Startup graduate that exploded on the startup scene with a massive Facebook presence. The most fascinating part about TOM is how its growth trajectory has been the reverse of most startups. The normal flow goes something like this: a few entrepreneurs have an idea, build their product, then market it. But TOM started out by building a massive Facebook following of millions of fans.
Since TOM hit critical mass on Facebook, it has been trying to figure out a problem most entrepreneurs would love to have:
Well, we have reach. What’s next?
From building iOS and Android apps, to an Etsy-like UGC strategy, it’s been fun watching them stumble uphill. Or as one of their angel investors, Craig Mod, perfectly summed up, “building their shrine”.
Freee
Like Quickbooks, BodeTree, Xero, Yendo, Zoho, et al., Freee is a cloud based software that helps small businesses with their accounting. Founded by five-year Google veteran Daisuke Sasaki, who led Google’s small-to-medium sized business marketing in the APAC region, Freee fills a much needed hole in Japan. While working for Google, he realized a there was a huge problem with web-based accounting software, often only working on certain browsers and with a not so friendly user experience.
This year has been a huge year for Freee. They re-branded, raised $27M Series A, and added features and functions to streamline tedious paper-to-digital administrative tasks.
Freee addresses relevant problems for any small- to mid-sized businesses and is building partnerships [1], features, and functions that prove they are one step ahead of their competitors. Recently they added a POS (point of sale) system on their iPad app, and last week they announced a collaboration with receipt tracking app ReceReco to simplify the paper receipt tracking process.
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo is an online learning platform founded by entrepreneurs with editorial backgrounds. Their vision is to encourage other entrepreneurs to be ‘eternal students’ by providing e-learning content focused on the startup and venture world. We recently talked with the founders about their strategy for building a quality e-learning space, and I encourage you to check out that discussion [2].
Coiney
Coiney is the fourth major player in mobile payment solutions along with PayPal Here, Square and Rakuten SmartPay. All four have similar products and strategies. Square and PayPal Here have challenges most US based companies have: localization. Coiney knows and understands the Japanese market as the founder is ex-PayPal Japan.
Rakuten SmartPay’s obstacle is that Rakuten is a massive corporation. In order to quickly gain traction in a highly competitive field like mobile payments, agility is a necessity. If Rakuten SmartPay can figure out how to move and iterate quickly, they will become a major player, as Rakuten Ichiba has existing relationships with small businesses in Japan. Keep in mind that Base is also a mobile payment solution player to be reckoned with, tackling market penetration in a different way [3].
This is definitely one race to keep an eye on.
Good luck to all four finalists tonight at the CNet Japan Startup Awards!
Partnerships with Suica and Seven and i Holdings Co. to track, record, and automate transportation and credit card expenditures. ↩
Japan’s Nikkei reported that Tokyo-based mobile payments processor Coiney will soon raise up to 800 million yen (approximately $8 million) from Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, the country’s state-run investment fund which promotes emerging technology businesses. Our readers may recall that the startup raised 500 million yen ($5 million) back in August from Credit Saison, one of Japan’s top credit card companies. The company expects to transact more than 1 trillion yen ($10 billion) through its payment platform in the next five years. Coiney was launched back in March of 2012 by ex-PayPal Japan employee Naoko Samata, and has been providing mobile payments solutions using swipe card readers for smartphones. In Japan, other competitors in this space are Square, Paypal Here, and Rakuten Smartpay. On a related note, it was announced a couple of weeks ago that the aforementioned fund announced will also invest up to 1 billion yen ($10 million) in another payments processor company, Royal Gate.
Japan’s Nikkei reported that Tokyo-based mobile payments processor Coiney will soon raise up to 800 million yen (approximately $8 million) from Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, the country’s state-run investment fund which promotes emerging technology businesses.
Our readers may recall that the startup raised 500 million yen ($5 million) back in August from Credit Saison, one of Japan’s top credit card companies. The company expects to transact more than 1 trillion yen ($10 billion) through its payment platform in the next five years.
Coiney was launched back in March of 2012 by ex-PayPal Japan employee Naoko Samata, and has been providing mobile payments solutions using swipe card readers for smartphones. In Japan, other competitors in this space are Square, Paypal Here, and Rakuten Smartpay.
On a related note, it was announced a couple of weeks ago that the aforementioned fund announced will also invest up to 1 billion yen ($10 million) in another payments processor company, Royal Gate.
See also the story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Coiney, a startup focused on providing mobile payments solutions in Japan, announced today that it has raised 500 million yen (over $5 million) from Credit Saison, one of Japanese top credit card companies. I believe the service is definitely making its way into consumers’ daily lives. Coiney was launched back in March of 2012 and has been providing mobile payments solutions using swipe card readers for smartphones. This, of course, puts them in the same space as Square, Paypal Here, and Rakuten Smartpay. Earlier this year, the startup also invited ex-CyberAgent COO Shinichi Saijo to its board of directors, a significant addition to its growing family. We had a chance to speak with the startup’s CEO Naoko Samata and asked her about how they plan to expand their business. Since our last conversation, the company has been focusing on user-safety systems and stability in rather than business expansion. We asked Naoko how they expect to compete against other big other players. She explained: If you see mobile payments as a disruption to the cash market, the potential is huge. I think every single player will evolve the market in different ways. Of course,…
From the left: Takamasa Matsumoto (software designer), Naoko Samata (CEO/founder), and David Asikin (CTO)
Tokyo-based Coiney, a startup focused on providing mobile payments solutions in Japan, announced today that it has raised 500 million yen (over $5 million) from Credit Saison, one of Japanese top credit card companies.
I believe the service is definitely making its way into consumers’ daily lives.
Coiney was launched back in March of 2012 and has been providing mobile payments solutions using swipe card readers for smartphones. This, of course, puts them in the same space as Square, Paypal Here, and Rakuten Smartpay.
Earlier this year, the startup also invited ex-CyberAgent COO Shinichi Saijo to its board of directors, a significant addition to its growing family.
We had a chance to speak with the startup’s CEO Naoko Samata and asked her about how they plan to expand their business. Since our last conversation, the company has been focusing on user-safety systems and stability in rather than business expansion. We asked Naoko how they expect to compete against other big other players. She explained:
If you see mobile payments as a disruption to the cash market, the potential is huge. I think every single player will evolve the market in different ways. Of course, this business needs a certain amount of a solid financial muscle. For us, it is very important to partner with other companies leveraging our business. By joining forces with appropriate partners, we will be able to reach out to more merchants who typically use our service on a daily basis.
According to Samata, more than a few consumers use mobile payments to buy high-value products or services in Japan, which is definitely different from what we’ve being seeing in the US. She shared some of their use cases and insights.
A big volume of our users are in their 40s, and 80% of them are male users. In terms of geographical metrics, it’s about a 50/50 split between urban and rural areas, which goes against our original hypothesis that Tokyoites in their 30s would be most of our user base. The average price per transaction using the service exceeds 10,000 yen ($100), which is certainly higher than the average credit card payments. […] Our customers (merchants) include outdoor tour guides, street-side butchers, flower shops, and souvenir shops. I believe the service is definitely making its way into consumers’ daily lives.
For Coiney, this may be how they differ most from their competitors. The startup aims to be a platform for solutions around money issues rather than just a payment solutions provider. As a part of their efforts on this front, the company plans to provide its payment services APIs to partnering developers. It might be very similar to what we’ve seen around API-based payment processing services such as Stripe, Braintree, and WebPay. Naoko added:
By the end of September, we’re expecting to announce our partners who will be using the closed alpha version of our SDKs. Subsequently we’ll start providing it to partner developers. We’re ready to provide SDKs for both the iOS and Android platforms. Unlike Stripes or Braintree, what we provide is payment solutions for face-to-face purchases. That’s the focus of our business.
With these new funds, the startup expects to double its engineering and business development forces, which is currently a 15-person team. It also expects to enhance its back-end infrastructure and add new models to its card reader line up.
Let’s keep an eye on Coiney to see how it progresses from here.
Coiney 
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Takeshi Hirano
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