KDDI, Lawson form capital tie-up, cooperate on mobile payments english.kyodonews.net

KYODO NEWS - 29 minutes ago - 18:05 | All, JapanMobile phone carrier KDDI Corp. and convenience store operator Lawson Inc. said Monday they have agreed to form a capital tie-up and cooperate on smartphone payments and customer loyalty point programs to strengthen their competitiveness.
KDDI will invest 2.1 percent in Lawson and also take a 20 percent stake in a company running Lawson's Ponta point program, in a capital and business tie-up that will see their customer base total over 100 million, the companies said.
KDDI's "au wallet point" and "au point" rewards service for its customers will be integrated into the Ponta service in May 2020, they said.
In the field of smartphone payments, members of the Ponta service will be able to use KDDI's "au PAY" payment service through the Ponta smartphone app.
"We will offer next-generation integration of retail outlets and online service" through the tie-up, Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu told a joint press conference in Tokyo.