Apple Pay will soon add support for Japan’s Nanaco and Waon prepaid cards

Apple Pay may support the Nanaco and Waon debit cards, Japan’s popular payment cards, as soon as the iOS 15 software update launches this fall, according to a new report.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Apple Pay is adding support for Nanaco and Waon cards soon
  • Issued in Japan, these are prepaid payment cards
  • Support for the cards may arrive alongside iOS 15 in the fall

A still from an Apple Pay ad with the tagline "Pay with a glance" shown centered in the middle of the screen

Apple Pay to gain Nanaco and Waon support

When implemented later in 2021, Apple Pay customers in Japan will be able to add their Nanaco and Waon prepaid cards to the Wallet app on their iPhone and use it for contactless payments with Apple Pay on their iPhone or Apple Watch in stores like 7-Eleven and Ito-Yokado.

How to view your Apple Card number in the Wallet app

Issued by Seven & I, there are about 74 million active Nanaco cards in circulation which are accepted at 80,000 retail locations across the country. As for the Waon card, Aeon has issued 87 million of the Waon prepaid cards accepted at 840,000 retail locations.

According to the Japan-language blog Ata Distance, support for the Nanaco and Waon payment cards is most likely launching alongside the iOS 15 software update sometime in the fall. Apple Pay has been adding new partners regularly.

Just recently, Coinbase announced support for using Apple Pay when buying cryptocurrency. Apple Pay also expanded to ING in Belgium and FNB in South Africa this summer.

How to see locations that accept Apple Pay

On top of that, the Cupertino company is rumored to be partnering with Affirm on a new buy-now-pay-later service for Canadian customers. With a little help from Goldman Sachs, Apple should also bring this new option, internally known as “Apple Pay Later”, to its US customers.