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Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

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Re: Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

#161

Post by chupchap »

freetime2 wrote: post #85
echohack5 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The weirdest payment method has got to be the Coke ON vending machines that do not support SUICA but instead require you to QR code-IR blaster you to a website where you bluetooth pair with the vending machine then buy it on your mobile browser. Like....somehow they turned a sub 1ms operation into a 4 minute 32 second one. It boggles the mind

Coke ON Pay uses an app that automatically pairs with the machine when you open it [1]. It’s pretty quick and takes less than 30 seconds once you set it up. I think you might be referring to QR de Kessai [2], which was introduced in 2023 and is targeted more at inbound international tourists who don’t want to download the app and may not have an E-Money card. Basically they aim to support to support the widest possib…

So they turned a couple of millisecond operation to a 30 second operation?

Re: Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

#162

Post by cyberrock »

echohack5 wrote: post #61
speak_plainly wrote: post #15

Sad to see the mascot going in March. Apparently this entire brand reset is tied to something JR East is calling 'Suica Renaissance,' which is about a ten-year effort to turn Suica into a lifestyle brand. Whitepaper: https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/press/2024/pdf/20241210.pdf They're planning on moving beyond the ¥20,000 prepaid balance limit, they are adding QR code payments (think WeChat and Alipay), making Suica work a…

The weirdest payment method has got to be the Coke ON vending machines that do not support SUICA but instead require you to QR code-IR blaster you to a website where you bluetooth pair with the vending machine then buy it on your mobile browser. Like....somehow they turned a sub 1ms operation into a 4 minute 32 second one. It boggles the mind

Most Coke On machines do support Suica/Felica but you have to press IC on the blinking pad. The problem is that the pad doesn't seem like a touchscreen and it can be difficult to precisely tap. However Suntory does have app-only machines now.

It's not really mentioned in the article, but Suntory and transit operators out in Hiroshima etc. are turning away from Felica simply because the licensing fee is too high for them. That's also why Samsung and Google don't enable it on non-Japanese phones. Sony and JR missed the part where they have to generous first to eliminate all competition before jacking up fees, and now they're getting eaten by QR payment and Visa.

Re: Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

#163

Post by Banditoz »

polishdude20 wrote: post #39
cptcobalt wrote: post #20

If you haven’t experienced suica, it’s like magically fast. Faster than NFC, faster than Apple Pay, faster than tap to pay, faster than Disney magic bands, faster than your work badge. It absolutely floored me every time I used it in Japan and it’s a full payment transaction.

The card might be fast but getting one as a tourist is kind of a hassle

Recently the physical cards are sold at a machine inside Haneda airport.

Re: Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

#164

Post by klausa »

daremocooon wrote: post #160

I live in Tokyo and use my Suica almost every day. Suica is very convenient because it makes entering station gates very smooth. I have a question: how do people enter stations in cities outside of Japan? I have never been outside of Japan, so I was curious.

Depends on where.

Many cities have their own cards, that are used for transit only (so no vending machines etc., and no interoperability between cities), increasingly many places just let you use your credit card in place of the special transit card, some places (Germany, some parts of Scandinavia) don’t have ticket gates at all.

Re: Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

#165

Post by klausa »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #58
ben1040 wrote: post #11

It's a bummer that while Google Wallet on Android phones supports Suica, they only offer the feature if the device was sold originally in Japan. Presumably they didn't want to pay Sony the licensing fees for the technology on non-JP devices. iPhones have it worldwide, so a visitor to Japan can use Apple Pay to stand up a card and fund it.

Apple Watches also support it, which can make it even more convenient in some circumstances (no need to fish anything out of pockets/bags/etc, can be used while holding other things).

Only if you’re left handed, or wear your watch on your right hand for whatever reason.

Or you have a contortionist spirit in you, whatever works :)

Re: Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

#166

Post by anigbrowl »

cptcobalt wrote: post #20

If you haven’t experienced suica, it’s like magically fast. Faster than NFC, faster than Apple Pay, faster than tap to pay, faster than Disney magic bands, faster than your work badge. It absolutely floored me every time I used it in Japan and it’s a full payment transaction.

Pleasant alternative from a lot of US transit systems, eg BART int eh Bay Area which is the most customer-hostile service I'eve ever used. giant gates that seem right out of a dystopian science-fiction movie, an achingly slow card readers which absolutely force you to break stride no matter how ready you are. Add in the extremely unhelpful station attendants and you've got a recipe for a public transport service that people actively avoid if they possibly can. Then they turn around and ask for voters to approve extra tax money. I'm convinced none of the people on the BART board actually use the service.

Re: Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

#167

Post by cosmic_cheese »

klausa wrote: post #165
cosmic_cheese wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple Watches also support it, which can make it even more convenient in some circumstances (no need to fish anything out of pockets/bags/etc, can be used while holding other things).

Only if you’re left handed, or wear your watch on your right hand for whatever reason. Or you have a contortionist spirit in you, whatever works :)

I'm right handed and wear my watch on my left wrist, never had an issue.

Re: Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

#168

Post by TulliusCicero »

Tor3 wrote: post #95
TulliusCicero wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The really nice advantage of Suica is its speed. Yeah credit card tap to pay is alright, but it's relatively slow, taking multiple seconds. Now QR code payment seems to be taking off in Japan, but unfortunately you can't access it as a tourist.

There are several types of QR code payments getting introduced, so it would be interesting to know the specifics. I'm only aware of using a QR code for Shinkansen tickets, which is something I have used and something a tourist can use as well. And then there's the new tickets slowly getting introduced in some areas, where the paper ticket has a QR code. I've not seen those yet, but it sounds like just an ordinary tic…

I mean general QR code payments as opposed to QR codes on tickets. First noticed them at convenience stores, but vending machines have them too, and I think some restaurants.

Re: Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

#169

Post by ericmay »

arjie wrote: post #140
ericmay wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only annoying thing is, well at least in 2023 or so, was that you had to actually load the card with funds even if you had a payment method attached on the iPhone wallet. That got me once as I was tapping like normal throughout my time in Japan and ran out of funds and held up a bunch of Japanese schoolgirls (judging by their attire) who definitely laughed at me and I of course laughed at myself too. If you’re in…

That also happens with Clipper Card in the Bay Area. Happened to me a couple of weeks ago on BART. I wonder if all transit cards need to be loaded with money when used on iPhone. I remember having a Clipper Card with autoload and that would work just fine without balance.

You might be right. I like how NYC is set up with just tap to pay with your wallet app without needing to unlock or anything.

Re: Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card

#170

Post by freetime2 »

chupchap wrote: post #161
freetime2 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coke ON Pay uses an app that automatically pairs with the machine when you open it [1]. It’s pretty quick and takes less than 30 seconds once you set it up. I think you might be referring to QR de Kessai [2], which was introduced in 2023 and is targeted more at inbound international tourists who don’t want to download the app and may not have an E-Money card. Basically they aim to support to support the widest possib…

So they turned a couple of millisecond operation to a 30 second operation?

30 seconds is the complete user flow to open the app, select a drink, approve payment with face id, and dispense the drink. Maybe a few seconds longer in the end than paying with Suica, but pretty negligible.

And a lot of coke machines in train stations, service areas, etc also accept Suica if you prefer (but then you don't get the stamps).

Typically the machines I see which only accept the Coke ON app are in more rural areas that traditionally would have only accepted cash. And I much prefer the app to cash.

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