Nanaco (trademarked as nanaco) is a prepaid cash-rechargeable contactless

electronic money Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital cu ...

card used at

Seven & I Holdings is a Japanese diversified retail group headquartered in Nibancho, Tokyo. Seven & I was founded in 1920 as Ito-Yokado, the Japanese chain of general merchandise and department stores. In 1991, Ito-Yokado acquired majority control of 7-Eleven, ...

-owned stores in Japan, which are

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a Diner, coffee shop un ...

restaurants, and

Ito-Yokado is a Japanese general merchandise and department store, originally founded in 1920. In 2005, it was reorganized, as part of a corporate restructuring, as a subsidiary of the Seven & I Holdings Co. As of March 2013, there are 178 Ito-Yokado ...

merchandise stores. In addition, Nanaco can be used at more than 7,000 stores outside the company's group, especially those that are JCM affiliated shops. Supplied by IY Card Service Co., Ltd. (later renamed Seven Card Service Co., Ltd.), a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd., Nanaco is available as Nanaco card (

plastic card A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term ''#Plastic card, plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credi ...

) and Nanaco mobile (

Osaifu-Keitai , literally "Wallet Mobile", is the ''de facto'' standard mobile payment system in Japan. Osaifu-Keitai services include electronic money, identity document, identity card, Loyalty program, loyalty card, fare collection of public transits (includ ...

application for mobile phones with embedded contactless chip). The Nanaco format also features a postpay function (on the QUICPay scheme), which was made available to IY Card (since renamed "Seven Card") credit card holders since the summer of 2007. Purchases with Nanaco earn points, which can later be used to make more purchases. The cards uses

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

FeliCa FeliCa is a contactless Radio-frequency identification, RFID smart cards, smart card system from Sony in Japan, primarily used in electronic money cards. The name stands for ''Felicity Card''. First utilized in the Octopus card system in Hong Kong, ...

technology, which is also used in a wide variety of contactless smart cards including

Suica is a prepaid rechargeable contactless smart card, electronic money used as a fare card on train lines in Japan, launched on November 18, 2001. The card can be used interchangeably with JR West's ICOCA in the Kansai region and San'yō region i ...

, Edy, and

Pasmo is a rechargeable contactless smart card electronic money system. It is primarily used for public transport in Tokyo, Japan, where it was introduced on 18 March 2007. Pasmo can also be used as a payment card for vending machines and stores. ...

. Services began on April 23, 2007 and the number of members is more than 3.8 million as of end-June 2007. "Nana" means "seven" in Japanese, and the giraffe's head and neck is in the shape of the number "7," in reference to "7-Eleven" and "Seven & i Holdings." As of March 2016, 45 million nanaco cards have been issued, and 215,300 stores accept nanaco payment.

History

* April 23, 2007 - pilot program launched at 1,500 7-Eleven stores in Tokyo * May 2007 - service is expanded nationwide at all 7-Eleven stores * September 3, 2007 - Nanaco card charging service begins at

Seven Bank is a Japanese bank. It is a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd. (parent company of 7-Eleven Japan and Ito Yokado). Until October 11, 2005, it was , taking its initials from Ito Yokado. Conducting its business primarily through the Interne ...

ATMs * October 10, 2007 - 5 million cards distributed * February 2008 - Nanaco cards accepted at all Denny's restaurants * March 25, 2008 - Nanaco cards accepted at Ito-Yokado stores * June 1, 2008 - Credit card charging service starts for IY Card branded credit cards (later renamed as

Seven Card 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...

) * March 30, 2010 - Nanaco cards accepted at Coca-Cola multi-money vending machines * March 31, 2010 - 10 million cards distributed * April 18, 2014 - The number of monthly transaction exceeded 100 million The "Nanaco card" issued by Seven-Eleven Japan became the most frequently used e-wallet within three months after it was introduced in April 2007.

References

External links

* {{Japanese smartcards 7-Eleven Contactless smart cards Japanese brands