GMO Pepabo’s minne, Japan’s leading handmade market, will support Apple Pay from today

Tokyo, Japan – October 25, 2016 - GMO Pepabo’s (https://pepabo.com/en/ ) minne (https://minne.com/ ), Japan’s leading^*1 handmade market, will support Apple Pay, a new payment method for buying products, from today.

Apple Pay is an easier, faster, safer, and more secure payment method that can be used – on the go and when shopping through smartphone applications and on websites – throughout the day through devices such as iPhone 7 that people always take wherever they go. Apple Pay has strong safety and protection of personal information.

*1 As of October 24, 2016. Comparison of the number of products that are registered as announced by four main operators of Japan’s online C2C handmade markets (according to our research).

minne is Japan’s leading C2C handmade market where 4.17 million products by 289,000 sellers are sold and exhibited (as of October 24, 2016). In addition to launching smartphone application from early on, GMO Pepabo is working hard to enhance the usability of minne by introducing various payment methods and by adding and improving features to meet the needs of both the sellers and buyers. Due to these efforts, many customers are currently using this smartphone application, and the number of downloads were over 6 million in June 2016.

GMO Pepabo is also putting effort into holding face-to-face retail events for sellers at large commercial facilities at every region of Japan. It is also holding Handmade Award (https://minne.com/handmade-award/2016 ) where awards are presented to products that show the sellers’ originality, and widening the areas where sellers both online and offline can carry out their activities.

Japan’s leading C2C handmade market minne now supports Apple Pay for buying products, at the same time as the launch of Apple Pay in Japan. Offering new shopping experience with innovative, convenient, safe, and secure Apple Pay will bring the sellers and buyers closer to each other, offering new encounters through handcrafts.

To use Apple Pay, update to the latest iOS, watchOS, or macOS. The update will be offered as a free software update starting today. For customers using MasterCard to use Apple Pay for payment, complete the payment easily by just placing a finger on Touch ID in iPhone 7. It is unnecessary to enter shipping address, contact detail, and credit card number in each transaction, so customers can buy artworks on the go. The setting of Apple Pay is easy, and the users will continue to receive benefits and point programs of credit cards.

iPhone (iPhone 6 and later) or iPad (iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3 and later) supports Apple Pay that can be used when shopping through smartphone applications and on websites. Customers can also use Apple Pay in Safari on Mac with macOS Sierra 2012 version and later. In this case, payment should be approved with iPhone (iPhone 6 and later) or Apple Watch.

The safety and the protection of personal information are important elements that form the foundation of Apple Pay. Even when iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch is lost, Apple Pay can be disabled easily by turning on Lost Mode through the feature Find my iPhone. All personal information, including Apple Pay stored on a device, can be deleted by remotely erasing the device. Payment through Apple Pay can also be disabled by logging into iCloud.com.

Even when Apple Pay is turned on in an iPhone or other devices, customers’ credit card numbers are not stored on their devices or Apple’s servers. Device specific account numbers will be issued to customers’ devices, and will be encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Element chip located within the devices. When customers use Apple Pay, merchants do not receive their credit card numbers.

minne will continue to hold face-to-face retail events for sellers, and workshop and round-table talk at minne atelier (https://minne.com/minne-atelier ) in Setagaya, Tokyo and Kobe, Hyogo, actively offering the areas where sellers can carry out their activities. It will also continue to pursue the usability needed to increase its user satisfaction, and focus on local revitalization through handcrafts, improve the awareness of handcrafts’ value, and expand the market, leading Japan’s handmade market.

GMO Internet Group

GMO Internet Group is an Internet services industry leader, developing and operating Japan’s most widely used domain, hosting & cloud, ecommerce, security, and payment solutions. The Group also includes the world’s largest online FX trading platform, as well as online advertising, Internet media, and mobile entertainment products. GMO Internet, Inc. (TSE: 9449) is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. For more information, please visit http://www.gmo.jp/en/.