In Japanese stores, you may see several cashless payment signs at the register, such as “transit IC cards,” “electronic money,” and “PayPay.” They all allow you to pay without cash, but IC-card payments and QR-code payments work in different ways.
With IC-card payment, you tap a card such as Suica or ICOCA, or a smartphone with the service set up, on a reader. Many of these systems use a prepaid balance, and transit IC cards can often be used not only for trains and buses but also at convenience stores, restaurants, and other shops.
QR-code payment works through a smartphone app such as PayPay. In some stores, the cashier scans the customer’s QR code or barcode. In others, the customer scans a QR code displayed by the store and enters the payment amount. Depending on the service, the money may come from an app balance, a bank account, or a credit card.
The systems are quite different, but people do not usually stand at the register comparing which one is more convenient each time. Both are easy once you are used to them, so many people simply keep using the method they already use in daily life. Someone who regularly uses an IC card tends to keep using IC, while someone who uses PayPay or another QR service tends to keep using that.
For people who already use a transit IC card, being able to use the same card for both transport and shopping is convenient. A wallet may already contain a driver’s license, My Number card, bank cards, and perhaps a few loyalty cards, so many people would rather not add even more cards. If one card already works for trains, buses, and everyday purchases, that may be enough.
For regular QR-payment users, the appeal is different. They can pay with the smartphone they already carry everywhere. Once someone is comfortable using a QR-payment app, they often simply keep using it.
So the difference is not that one system is simply “better” than the other. IC payment is based on tapping a card or smartphone, while QR payment uses codes displayed or scanned through an app. In everyday life, people often choose whichever method already fits the services they use and the habits they have built.
