Best Payments Companies in Japan
The 76 best Payments companies in Japan in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: NETSTARS.
- ResearchAndMarkets.com
Our analysis of 150 Payments companies
$44.9b in tracked funding; 96% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2021.
Ranked: Best Payments companies in Japan
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Employees | Founder | Tech stack | Web popularity | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AirREGI Provider of point of sale application for various business types | — | — | — | Hisayuki Idekoba CEO | Cart FunctionalityAlgoliaRuby+24 | Top 50k | — | — |
| 2 | ANA Digital Gate mPOS solutions to accept card and wallet payments | — | — | — | Kenji Saito CEO | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | athena smartcard The most advanced smart card technology directly from Athena or through our licensed silicon partners. | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11 patents Secure smart‑card token administration and access control systems | — |
| 4 | base BASE provides web-based services that develop and build e-commerce platforms. | — | — | 266 | — | WordPressMySQLPHP+25 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 5 | Billing System Payment settlement solutions for businesses | — | — | — | Toshihiko Eda CEO | Apache HTTP ServerAmazon Web ServicesMicrosoft 365+1 | Top 500k | — | — |
| 6 | Billing System Corporation Provider of comprehensive payment services, including agency and collection support | — | — | 73 | Toshihiko Eda CEO | WordPressMySQLPHP+12 | Top 10M | — | — |
| 7 | Cardinal Company Manufacturer of plastic cards based in Osaka, Japan. The company offers plastic cards, IC cards, prepaid… | — | — | 83 | — | — | — | 4 patents Low‑emissivity transparent laminate coatings for energy‑efficient glazing | — |
| 8 | CARDNET Payment card networks for businesses | — | — | 368 | — | Apple iCloud MailSalesforcePHP+14 | Top 500k | — | — |
Top 12 Payments companies in Japan
#1
Series B · Shibuya, Tokyo · founded 2020 · 6 employees$4.7Mraised▾
Cloud-based employee welfare platform for enterprises. The software offers a payments card and operational assistance. It also allows imparting tax benefits, management, customization and advance payment facility. It is a tool available on the subscription-based pricing model.
- Nov 2025Series B$9.8M
- Nov 2025Conventional Debt—
- Nov 2024Seed$2.9M
- Nov 2024Conventional Debt—
#2
Series A · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2021 · 21 employees$7.3Mraised▾
Card-linked wallet for consumer payments. Provides consumer personal wallet linked with NFC-enabled cards for making deposits and withdrawals, accessing wallet information from the app, card can be used to withdraw cash from ATMs, or use it for shopping, and more.
- Nov 2024Series A$11.7M
- Feb 2023Seed$3.9M
- Sep 2021Seed$3.4M
#3
Public · Chiyoda City, Tokyo · founded 2006 · 272 employees$34.9Mraised▾
Provider of financial technology solutions, consulting, and business creation support. The company delivers platforms for business transformation, leveraging expertise in finance and payment technology. It facilitates digital wallets, international brand card issuance, and bank API integration. The company also offers consulting services, supporting business development with advanced knowledge in technology.
- Apr 2024Series A$12.5M
- Oct 2021Series A—
- Mar 2021Series A$22.3M
- Feb 2019Seed—
#4
Series A · Minato City, Tokyo · founded 2014$3.1Mraised▾
Technology firm that specializes in identity document (ID) technology and financial technology solutions. The company provides a hybrid payment employee ID card management, which supports various payment methods and offers health management features.
- Jul 2024Series A$3.1M
#5
Series D · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2015 · 47 employees$110.2Mraised▾
Kyash provides virtual and prepaid cards for consumers. It offers Kyash Visa Card for making payments through mobile phones. It features notification for payment transactions and payment history. It enables users to split their bills with friends and colleagues. The card can be accessed from the web or mobile devices. The app is available on Android and IOS platforms. Also offers white label solutions for partner companies to issue Visa Cards.
- Mar 2022Series D$41.2M
- Mar 2020Series C$45M
- Jul 2019Series B$14M
- Dec 2016Series A$8.5M
#6
Seed · Shibuya, Tokyo · founded 2017 · 20 employees$13.9Mraised▾
Payme is an app-based mobile payment platform. Service offered include money transfer, online payments, payments at stores, etc. Offers a transaction history to keep track of past transactions. The app is available on the Android platform.
- Sep 2023Seed$2.7M
- Jul 2019Seed$6.5M
- Mar 2018Seed$4.2M
- Sep 2017Seed$473.7K
#7
Seed · Minato, Tokyo · founded 2020 · 20 employees$7Mraised▾
A credit card where payments are made in installments. Provides three installments on credit card purchases without interest or additional fees. Card-based pay later solution with one-click checkout and payments are automatically taken from the card as installments. Made available for both shoppers and merchants. For merchants, it provides an impact on conversion, revenue, risk and more.
- Apr 2024Seed$7M
#8
Series B · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2014$6.6Mraised▾
Payment processing solutions for businesses and merchants. Its product includes cloud-based payment gateway solutions, QR-based payment solutions, and more. It also facilitates payments via credit or debit cards, wallets, bank transfers, and more. It also provides consulting services for payments.
- Apr 2024Series B$6.6M
#9
Public · Chuo City, Tokyo · founded 2008 · 127 employees$130Mraised▾
Provider of multi-cashless payment solutions, store operation, and global cashless promotion. The business focuses on payment-based financial technology. It offers solutions for streamlining store operations. The business promotes cashless payment options internationally.
- Apr 2021Series A$66M
- May 2020Seed—
- 2019Seed—
- Sep 2018Seed—
#10
Acquired · Mountain View, California · founded 2012 · 184 employees$85Mraised▾
Developer of a financial platform intended for cashless payments. The company's mobile-based marketplace provides a unique tool that bridges online and offline shopping experience to redesign commerce through mobile payments, accept payments on a mobile device by simply connecting to the internet, enabling consumers to discover and purchase products from top international brands, both when browsing online and when shopping in the real world.
#11
Series B · Minato City, Tokyo · founded 2017$16.3Mraised▾
Provider of a platform for accessing earned wages on demand. It facilitates immediate access to wages and offers options for digital payments. The platform aims to improve financial wellness through flexible pay cycles. It integrates with time and attendance systems to provide payment solutions. The company focuses on offering payment options and financial services.
- Apr 2022Series B$16.3M
#12
Series A · Chuo City, Tokyo · founded 2020$7.8Mraised▾
Touchless payment ring solutions for individuals. The platform offers a prepaid smart ring that supports the visa's touch payment system. The customers can download and register on the EVERING mobile application. Using the application, the customer can charge using a credit card, view balance, start or stop services, and usage history.
- May 2022Series A$7.8M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Payments coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Digital Payments is moving in Japan
A read on the academic research around Digital Payments — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 158 Japan-affiliated papers.
- University of Tsukuba11
- The University of Tokyo9
- Korea University7
- Waseda University7
- Asia University5
- Payment system11
- Database transaction10
- Computer security8
- Mobile payment6
- Mobile banking4
- Financial inclusion1→4
- Structural equation modeling1→4
- Database transaction2→4
- Payment system5→6
Where digital payments is researched across Japan
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing digital payments patents in Japan
Japan digital payments patent filing is cooling — 173 filings from 100 assignees (2016–2025), led by NEC, Rakuten, Toshiba TEC KK; annual filings 9→8.
- NEC21
- Rakuten18
- Toshiba TEC KK13
- Rakuten Group12
- Brainy11
- Maxell11
- Nippon Kinsen Kikai KK11
- Konami Digital Entertainment10
Common questions
Riya reads income statements for fun. She covers the real money in a sector — revenue, growth, who actually earns — and never met a vague claim she didn't want a number for.